Air India turbulence scare: Airbus and French agency to join probe into Phuket flight

The
ai c aft
plu ged
300ft,
i ju i g
ma y
o
boa d

NEW
DELHI:
Eu opea
ae ospace
majo
Ai bus
a d
F a ce’s
Bu eau
of
E qui y
a d
A alysis
fo
Civil
Aviatio
Safety
will
joi
the
p obe
to
establish
what
caused
the
Ai
I dia
A320
flyi g
f om
Phuket
to
Delhi
with
145
aboa d
to
sudde ly
lose
altitude
by
about
300ft
last
week,
i ju i g
ma y
o
boa d.Led
by
I dia’s
Ai c aft
Accide t
I vestigatio
Bu eau
(AAIB),
the
i vestigatio
is
exami i g
the
twi
aspects
of
the
ai c aft’s
mecha ical
issues
a d
pilot
behaviou .
Eve yo e
TOI
spoke
to
said
what
happe ed
mid-flight
was
i deed
“a
close
shave”.
Luckily,
the
ai c aft
(AI
2379)
la ded
safely
at
its
desti atio ,
but
17
people
had
to
be
hospitalised.The
captai ‘s
psychoactive
substa ce
sc ee i g
test
was
ot
egative,
a d
the
co fi mato y
test
esult
is
ot
yet
officially
k ow .
His
behaviou
o
boa d
is
u de
the
sca e .
“O e
of
the
pilots
fell
i
the
cockpit
a d
had
to
be
assisted
by
cabi
c ew
to
get
back
o
his
seat,”
said
a
sou ce.
The
flight
data
eco de
will
eveal
mecha ical
failu es,
if
a y,
a d
the
cockpit
voice
eco de
will
eveal
what
t a spi ed
o
the
flight
deck.”Ai bus
is
se di g
its
team
to
I dia,
a d
they
will
each
by
Wed esday
to
i spect
the
ai c aft
a d
wo k
with
Ai
I dia
a d
AAIB.

Bei g
a
se ious
i cide t,
the
i vestigato
of
the
o igi al
equipme t
ma ufactu e ‘s
cou t y
(F a ce
i
this
case)
is
also
comi g,”
said
a
sou ce.
A
Ai bus
official
said
it
is
“p ovidi g
tech ical
assista ce
to
the
i vestigati g
autho ities.
We
a e
actively
suppo ti g
the
ai li e
a d
will
p ovide
fu the
i fo matio
as
it
becomes
available”.I dust y
executives
said
the
A320
(VT-EXO)
may
have
suffe ed
a
t iple
hyd aulic
failu e
fo
a
few
seco ds,
which
is
a e.
This
system
uses
a
fluid
u de
p essu e
to
d ive
machi e y
o
move
mecha ical
compo e ts
to
powe
c itical
eleme ts
like
wheel
b akes,
ose
wheel
stee i g,
la di g
gea
et actio /exte sio
a d
flight
co t ol
su faces.
It
is
also
lea t
the
autopilot
became
dise gaged
du i g
that
tumultuous
time
fo
a
few
seco ds,
a d
the
ai c aft
eve
got
a
stall
wa i g.

A
pilot
the
steadied
the
ai c aft
by
pushi g
the
ose
dow .AI
said
it
ca ‘t
“comme t
o
a y
fi di gs
o
obse vatio s
elated
to
the
i vestigatio ”
as
it
“is
bei g
co ducted
by
AAIB”
a d
that
the
ai li e
“will
co ti ue
to
exte d
ou
full
coope atio
to
autho ities
as
equi ed”.
The
flight
data
eco de
will
eveal
the
timestamps
of
the
seque ce
of
eve ts
–
whethe
the
alleged
t a sie t
hyd aulic
failu e
occu ed
because
of
the
ai c aft’s
apid
desce t
o
whethe
the
ai c aft
fi st
e te ed
a
ai
pocket
a d
subseque t
tu bule ce
caused
hyd aulic
failu e.