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Air India pilot slept 30 minutes, tested positive for cannabis
The commander of the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that lost altitude on August 4 told investigators he slept for 30-35 minutes during the flight and had been struggling with sleep, Hindustan Times…
The Story in Brief
The commander of the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that lost altitude on August 4 told investigators he slept for 30-35 minutes during the flight and had been struggling with sleep, Hindustan Times reports. His post-flight drug test came back positive for cannabis. The crew filed a report alleging the pilot was "out of control" and had to be helped back to his seat, according to Times Now's exclusive.
The aircraft, an Airbus A320, logged nine warning messages within one minute, including low hydraulic pressure, autopilot disconnects, and elevator faults. The flight dropped from 36,160 feet to about 35,800 feet. The DGCA and AAIB are investigating the incident, which injured several passengers.
The Indian Opinion
The rush to blame the pilot alone for the Phuket-Delhi incident misses the pattern of hydraulic warnings that appeared within one minute. If a transient technical fault triggered the altitude loss, the pilot's sleep and cannabis use may be irrelevant to the cause. The DGCA and AAIB must separate the drug test result from the mechanical data before any conclusion. The real test will be whether the final AAIB report matches the 9.32am fault cluster or the crew's account of the pilot's behaviour.
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
