Air India Captain Tests Positive for Marijuana Following Phuket-Delhi Altitude Drop: Critical Aviation Safety Crisis Unfolds

The captain of an Air India Phuket-Delhi flight that suddenly lost about 300 feet of altitude on August 4 has tested positive for marijuana in a confirmatory drug test, according to sources familiar with the matter. The revelation transforms what initially appeared as technical malfunction into a potential human performance crisis with profound implications for aviation safety protocols and pilot fitness assessments across India’s commercial aviation sector.

Earlier in the day, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation summoned Air India CEO Campbell Wilson over the incident, which involved an Airbus A320neo aircraft. The summons came days after Indian authorities opened an investigation into the incident, which injured 13 passengers and four crew members.

The positive result emerged following established post-incident protocols. The pilot-in-command of the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight, which experienced a sudden loss of altitude of approximately 300 feet during cruise on August 4, tested positive for marijuana, a psychoactive substance, in the confirmatory test. The aircraft, carrying 137 passengers and eight crew members, experienced a sudden loss of altitude, after which it stabilised and subsequently landed safely in the national capital.

The incident’s technical complexity compounds the human factors investigation. A purported post-flight maintenance report for Air India flight AI2379 has revealed multiple technical warnings involving the aircraft’s hydraulic systems, flight controls and autopilot during its journey from Phuket to Delhi. The report lists repeated low-pressure alerts in the green, blue and yellow hydraulic systems and notes low fluid levels in the yellow and blue hydraulic reservoirs. The aircraft recorded two separate autopilot disconnections during the flight. Additional warnings included faults related to the left and right elevator flight control systems, engine anti-ice messages, and indications involving the aircraft’s forward and aft emergency exit doors on the right side.

The convergence of simultaneous technical failures alongside pilot impairment creates extraordinarily dangerous circumstances. Whether the pilot’s marijuana use contributed to decision-making during the altitude loss or merely represents an independent violation of aviation regulations remains under investigation by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

Air India and Air India Express will conduct psychoactive substance tests for all their pilots starting Thursday following the captain’s positive test result. The fleet-wide testing directive reflects organizational recognition that the captain’s positive result suggests potential systemic deficiencies in pre-flight screening protocols or crew fitness assessment procedures.

The airline earlier had said that it regularly conducts drug testing of its crew members according to the guidelines laid down by the DGCA. This assertion now requires scrutiny regarding the effectiveness of existing testing protocols in detecting substance use among active pilots.

The incident represents aviation safety’s darkest scenario—the convergence of mechanical failure and human impairment. Regulatory authorities must determine whether marijuana impairment affected pilot performance during the critical altitude loss sequence, or whether the substance use was incidental to independent technical failures. Regardless, the positive result demonstrates potential systemic failures in pre-flight safety protocols.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s summons to Air India’s CEO signals regulatory determination to hold organizational leadership accountable for crew fitness standards. As investigation proceeds, Indian aviation authorities face pressure to implement enhanced screening mechanisms preventing substance-impaired pilots from operating commercial aircraft carrying hundreds of passengers.