Airbus’ preliminary assessment found that Air India flight AI-2379 briefly lost primary flight-control response after a sequential failure of all three hydraulic systems | AI Generated Image
Mumbai, August 14, 2026: The Air India flight from Phuket to Delhi, which experienced severe altitude loss, had suffered serious technical failures and was completely out of the pilots’ control for about four seconds, according to a preliminary technical analysis from Airbus. The issue of a triple hydraulic system failure is considered novel for A320neo pilots, prompting the aircraft manufacturer to conduct a detailed assessment of the case.The Air India flight AI-2379, operated by an Airbus A320neo registered as VT-EXO, from Phuket to Delhi on August 4 with around 137 passengers and eight crew members, had suffered an altitude drop of 300 ft within two seconds while cruising over Odisha. The incident left more than 20 passengers and four crew members injured, who had to be hospitalised for treatment.The Free Press Journal had reported on Wednesday, August 12, that the aircraft’s post-flight maintenance report logged 13 system warnings and three failure messages during the Phuket-Delhi route. The messages highlighted various issues, including multi-system hydraulic pressure drop, autopilot trip, triggering of door sensors and others.
Triple Hydraulic Failure Identified
Following the incident, Airbus submitted its preliminary assessment to Air India upon the latter’s request. Based on the analysis of the digital flight data recorder (DFDR), the assessment revealed a cascade of hydraulic system losses. At around 44 seconds past 9.32 am, the aircraft experienced an initial loss of the Green (G) hydraulic system, and just one second later, both the Blue (B) and Yellow (Y) hydraulic systems were lost.The sequential failure of all three hydraulic systems caused a complete loss of elevator and aileron control surfaces for approximately four seconds. During this critical window, the elevators (the flaps on the tail that control the aircraft’s angle) shifted unexpectedly, while the ailerons (flaps on the wings that make the plane roll) went into a damping mode, deflecting towards zero hinge moment and causing an initial pitch increase.Pilots Temporarily Lost ControlThe passengers felt the actual impact on the aircraft when the autopilot was disconnected. Moreover, the flight control surfaces did not respond even after the first officer applied full nose-down pitch input, as the ailerons remained in damping mode. According to Airbus, the pilots had no command on the primary control surfaces for four seconds.According to subject-matter experts, this was the first instance in which all three hydraulic systems failed simultaneously on the A320neo. This also left the crew without a reference procedure, as A320-rated pilots are not trained for this challenge.The systems recovered at 51 seconds past 9.32 am when the Blue hydraulic system recovered, quickly followed by the Yellow and Green systems, restoring full control of the flight control surfaces. Airbus noted that the flight control behaviour resulted from a loss of hydraulic pressure. Preliminary observations indicated potential issues with pressure switches.Further Tests RecommendedAs part of the assessment, Airbus has recommended that Air India conduct operational tests on all three hydraulic systems, pressure switches, transducers and leak-measurement switches. It also suggested that the airline conduct structural inspections to verify airframe integrity due to load exceedances detected during the sudden altitude variation, and seek detailed pilot reports and additional flight system logs to further determine the root cause.Also Watch:
Airbus stated that due to the complexity of the assessment — evaluating both flight control mechanics and airframe structural integrity — a final resolution may take longer than standard cases.To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/