# Air India pilots’ body chief rejects turbulence as cause in Phuket-Delhi plunge 2026-08-09T20:52:19+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Airline Pilots' Association of India president Captain Sam Thomas has dismissed turbulence as the cause behind the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight AI2379 incident, in which the aircraft dropped nearly 300 feet on August 4. Speaking to Times Now, Thomas said there is no mechanism to authoritatively detect turbulence and called for verifying facts before publicising stories. He said passengers should wear seat belts regardless of sign indicators. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has classified the event as a serious incident and handed the probe to the Aircraft Incident Investigation Bureau. A passenger, Shrikant Jha, described panic during the drop, saying his father-in-law hit the ceiling and his mother-in-law suffered a rib fracture. He questioned the pilot's demeanour and the decision to continue to Delhi instead of diverting, though he could not confirm if the pilot was intoxicated. ## Coverage - timesnownews.com - timesnownews.com Tags: Air India, ALPA, aviation safety, DGCA, pilot drug test, turbulence incident Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/alpa-chief-rejects-turbulence-claim-in-air-india-flight-drop/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/alpa-chief-rejects-turbulence-claim-in-air-india-flight-drop/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.