Investigators examining an Air India A320 on the Phuket-to-New Delhi route found that a stall warning preceded a sharp pitch excursion that injured 24 passengers and crew. The aircraft briefly lost all three hydraulic systems, the autopilot disconnected and the jet later landed in Delhi after the upset at cruising altitude.
The preliminary findings from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau reclassify the event from a serious incident to an accident, while the cause remains unresolved. The aircraft carried 137 passengers and eight crew members when it climbed 372 feet and then dropped 292 feet from its assigned altitude, with the stall warning lasting about two seconds.
Twenty injured people were treated and discharged, while four remained hospitalised with serious injuries. Airbus analysis referenced in the investigation points to a rare sequence of hydraulic failures, raising fresh scrutiny over redundancy, cockpit warning management and passenger injury risk during sudden pitch changes on the A320 fleet.