Now Reading: Airbus says all three hydraulics failed on Air India flight
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Airbus says all three hydraulics failed on Air India flight
Airbus data shows that Air India flight 2379 from Phuket to Delhi lost pressure in all three hydraulic systems within seconds on 4 August, temporarily leaving flight controls unresponsive for about four seconds. The Airbus A320 pitched up and lost altitude, injuring 20 passengers and four crew. The cause remains unknown: investigators are checking whether it was a genuine pressure loss, a sensor fault, or a pilot error.
A second Air India A320 suffered a separate hydraulic failure on the ground at Bangkok on 14 August before a Delhi flight. The aircraft was moved to a side bay and passengers waited over 24 hours for a replacement. No injuries were reported in that incident.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau is leading the Phuket probe with help from Airbus and France's BEA. Air India has ordered screening of all its pilots for prohibited substances after the Phuket pilot tested positive for a sleep medication. The final report will determine whether the two issues are connected.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both sources report the same sequence of events but frame the story differently. Livemint leads with the technical investigation and Airbus's mechanical analysis, treating the pilot's drug test as a separate issue. Gulf News leads with passenger inconvenience and a second incident, creating a cumulative safety narrative. Livemint's framing is neutral technical reporting, Gulf News leans toward sensationalism by highlighting passenger delays and connecting two incidents. The measured read: two separate hydraulic faults occurred ten days apart, but the Bangkok fault was detected pre-takeoff and resolved without injury. The core question remains whether the Phuket incident's cause is mechanical or operational. Watch for AAIB findings on concurrent hydraulic failure.
Coverage: 2 sources, 1 neutral, 1 sensationalist
Sources (2): livemint.com (neutral report), gulfnews.com (sensationalist)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
