The commander of Air India flight AI2379, which lost altitude abruptly over the Bay of Bengal on August 4, told investigators he had been battling sleep problems and was taking medication prescribed by his family doctor, according to two people with knowledge of his account to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). The pilot did not identify the medication or disclose how long he had been taking it.
Pilot's Account and Drug Test
As reported by Hindustan Times, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described more than an hour of questioning by investigators. Under Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) rules, pilots are required to declare prescription medication to their airline, and it was not clear whether he had done so.
The disclosure came a day after it emerged that his preliminary post-flight drug test had been recorded as "non-negative" and that a confirmatory test returned positive for cannabis.
What Happened Inside the Cockpit
The commander told investigators he slept for between 30 and 35 minutes during the flight, visited the washroom, and returned to stand behind the first officer. He said he was in a conversation about the air conditioning system when the altitude event occurred and he was thrown to the cockpit floor. A cabin crew member seated in the observer position helped him up. The first officer was flying the aircraft at the time, while the commander served as the pilot monitoring.
A post-flight log from the aircraft's Centralised Fault Display System, an Airbus A320 registered as VT-EXO, recorded nine warning messages within one minute at 9.32am IST. The warnings covered low pressure across the Green, Blue, and Yellow hydraulic systems in varying combinations, low reservoir levels on two systems, an autopilot disconnect, and an elevator flight-control fault. Two door emergency-exit sensor alerts followed at 9.33am and 9.35am.
Fault Pattern Points to a Transient Event
No further hydraulic or elevator messages were logged for the next 43 minutes. A separate engine anti-ice fault appeared at 10.16am, and a second autopilot disconnect was recorded at 10.52am, this time without accompanying hydraulic warnings.
The pattern of pressure readings shifting across different system combinations within a single minute, rather than one system failing and staying failed, is consistent with a transient event such as a sharp vertical excursion. A sustained mechanical failure would typically generate additional recurring fault messages.
Flightradar24 tracking data places the altitude event within the same window as the fault cluster. The aircraft was cruising at 36,160 feet when an anomaly was recorded at 9.33am IST, with altitude dropping to about 35,800 feet, a loss of roughly 360 feet.
Regulatory Context and Air India's Response
According to Reuters, existing rules require airlines to randomly test at least 10% of their flight crew for psychoactive substances each year. "We nevertheless now feel that it is important to go further," Air India said in a memo, adding that the initiative was intended to uphold safety standards and provide reassurance to passengers and other stakeholders.
Investigations are still ongoing to ascertain the actual cause of the deadly Air India flight 171 disaster. Various aviation experts have offered reasons the plane crashed shortly after takeoff from the Ahmedabad airport. Investigators examined the medical records of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who made a call an hour before the flight.
Meanwhile, Captain CS Randhawa, a seasoned pilot and president of the Federation of Indian Pilots, came to the defence of late Air India pilot Sumeet Sabharwal. With 30 years of personal experience of knowing and training Sabharwal on the Airbus A310, Randhawa vouched for his professionalism and gentle demeanour. He noted that baseless speculations about Sabharwal's personal life were not only hurtful to colleagues but also warrant action against those perpetuating such falsehoods.
