Air India jet briefly lost all hydraulics at 36,000 feet, causing altitude upset that injured 24

At 36,000 feet, an Air India Airbus A320neo lost all three hydraulic systems within seconds, briefly throwing the aircraft off altitude and injuring 24 people. The incident occurred on flight AI 2379 from Phuket to Delhi on August 4, according to a preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

The aircraft, registered as VT-EXO and manufactured in 2018, carried 137 passengers, including three infants, along with six cabin crew and two pilots. It took off from Phuket at 1:41 a.m. UTC, or 7:11 a.m. IST, with no reported abnormalities.

At 9:32:43 a.m. IST, the aircraft detected the loss of its green hydraulic system. Four seconds later, it detected the loss of the blue and yellow systems. The autopilot disengaged at 9:32:48, followed by a continuous warning chime. Three seconds later, a stall warning sounded for two seconds.

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non-negative

The aircraft initially rose 372 feet and then fell 292 feet from its assigned flight level, according to the report. The sudden movement threw unbelted passengers and crew against overhead bins and ceiling panels, injuring 24 of the 145 people aboard. The report said the blue system recovered at about 9:32:52, followed within seconds by the yellow and green systems. Flight-control surfaces then recovered and the aircraft returned to normal operation.

The co-pilot, who was flying the aircraft, responded before the pilot-in-command took control. The pilot-in-command, who had been monitoring the flight, later tested “non-negative” for a psychoactive substance in a confirmatory test after landing in Delhi. The co-pilot tested negative in both tests. The preliminary report did not establish any connection between the test result and the incident, saying the technical and other aspects remained under investigation.

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The aircraft encountered altitude upset. Initially, it gained 372 ft and fell by 292 ft from its assigned FL360 during the event.