Severe turbulence on an Air India flight injured multiple passengers and crew on Tuesday, prompting an investigation by India's aviation regulator. The aircraft dropped about 300 feet during the incident, which lasted four to five minutes before a safe landing at New Delhi's IGI Airport, where injured passengers were taken to hospital.
However, according to The Hindu, the incident may not have been turbulence at all. The newspaper reported that the Airbus A320 suffered a rare flight-control event, with nine technical snags occurring in one minute, including an autopilot disconnect, hydraulic failures, and faults affecting the systems that control the aircraft's nose-up and nose-down movement. Air India has written to Airbus about the matter.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has launched an investigation and gathered vital evidence. Meanwhile, the Airline Pilots' Association of India issued an advisory seeking confidentiality, stating that a non-negative screening result is a preliminary flag pending confirmatory laboratory testing and review.
Some passengers remained in hospital after the incident. A passenger described the ordeal, saying those aboard believed they would die. Footage showed injured passengers being stretchered off the aircraft and loaded into a waiting ambulance.