Air India probes Phuket-Delhi hydraulic incident that injured 24 passengers and crew
Air India flight 2379 temporarily lost pressure across all three hydraulic systems on its Phuket-Delhi route, prompting investigations by Airbus and India’s AAIB. The carrier has also ordered prohibited-substance screening for all pilots as scrutiny expands to A320 fleet operations.
What happened
Air India’s Phuket-Delhi A320 suffered a temporary loss of hydraulic pressure across all three systems, injuring 24 people. Airbus and India’s AAIB are
Key facts
- Flight 2379
- 4 August
- 20 passengers injured
- 4 crew members injured
- Three hydraulic systems
- About four seconds of unresponsive flight controls
- More than 400 A320-family aircraft operated by IndiGo and Air India
- About 900 Airbus aircraft in combined order book
- 25% US drug testing rate for 2026
- 10% US alcohol testing rate for 2026
Why this matters
Heightened scrutiny of Air India’s A320 operations may increase the strategic value of maintenance, safety-monitoring and operational-resilience partners while complicating fleet and alliance discussions.
What to watch
- AAIB preliminary findings on whether the three hydraulic-system pressure losses shared a common cause.
- DGCA airworthiness directives, mandatory inspection orders, or restrictions affecting A320-family operations.
- Airbus service bulletins, fleet-alert messages, or similar incidents at other operators.
- Number and duration of Air India aircraft groundings, cancellations, diversions, and wet-lease deployments.
- Evidence that pilot substance screening is linked to a broader compliance concern rather than a precautionary policy change.
- Passenger sentiment, booking trends, and corporate-travel account feedback following media coverage.
- Conduct immediate records reviews and targeted technical inspections of comparable A320-family aircraft, hydraulic components, and recent maintenance work orders.
- Coordinate with Airbus, AAIB, and DGCA on fault data, preservation of parts and flight records, and any interim operating procedures.
- Build schedule contingencies using spare aircraft, selective frequency reductions, and reaccommodation plans to limit disruption if inspections ground aircraft.
- Accelerate safety-assurance actions: crew fitness screening, maintenance-quality audits, incident-reporting reviews, and visible communication to employees and passengers.
- Assess whether supplier claims, insurance recoveries, or additional maintenance reserves are needed if component replacement or fleet modifications are ordered.