UPDATE: 24 injured on Air India flight AI2379 from Phuket to New Delhi
Twenty-four of 145 people aboard Air India flight AI2379 were injured during a stall-warning event on the Phuket–New Delhi route; reports later described differing pilot-testing measures.
Twenty-four people were injured when Air India flight AI2379, an Airbus A320 flying from Phuket to New Delhi, experienced a stall warning and sudden pitch-up and pitch-down movements on 4 August, according to a preliminary report by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The Thaiger reported that 145 people were aboard.
The aircraft was cruising at 36,000 feet with the seatbelt signs off when the incident occurred. Investigators said it initially climbed 372 feet above its assigned altitude before descending to 292 feet below FL360, throwing passengers and cabin crew against overhead bins.
The stall warning lasted two seconds. The flight-control system detected the loss of all three hydraulic systems within four seconds, disengaging the autopilot and triggering a continuous cockpit alarm, the report said. The systems began recovering about nine seconds after the first loss.
The report did not establish why pressure was lost in all three hydraulic systems, saying the matter required further investigation. The 32-year-old first officer was flying the aircraft when the incident occurred, and the 34-year-old captain later took control, investigators said.
The AAIB also said the captain returned a “non-negative” result in a confirmatory test for psychoactive substances. It did not identify the substance. A source told Reuters that the substance was marijuana.
Air India said it was fully co-operating with the investigation and had provided access to operational, maintenance and technical records. The Bangkok Post reported that the airline was carrying out one-time mandatory substance testing for all pilots, while India was considering annual drug testing of all pilots compared with the requirement for 10% to be tested each year.
On 5 September, Chiang Rai Times reported that Air India had introduced a 100% voluntary pilot-testing programme for drugs and psychoactive substances after the Phuket–New Delhi incident. The reports do not establish whether that voluntary programme was an additional measure, a later change to the one-time mandatory testing, or a different description of the airline’s response.
The incident adds to scrutiny of Air India following the June 2025 crash of one of its Boeing 787s in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people.
