Airbus analysis points to four-second loss of flight controls on Phuket-Delhi Air India flight

For about four seconds, an Air India A320neo flying from Phuket to Delhi appears to have had no effective control of its elevators and ailerons, Airbus’s initial analysis of flight-recorder data indicates.

The episode on flight AI-2379 involved failures affecting the aircraft’s three hydraulic systems. The elevators and ailerons drifted without pilot commands, while the spoilers were also lost as a consequence of the hydraulic failure. The autopilot disconnected and the co-pilot, responding to reported stall warnings, pushed the side-stick forward. Those inputs did not move the aircraft’s nose until the hydraulic systems recovered a few seconds later.

The subsequent nose-down movement saw the aircraft drop about 300 feet. Passengers and cabin crew were injured, including some seriously, after people were thrown upwards inside the cabin.

Airbus has linked the emergency to a possible faulty hydraulic pressure sensor, but has not identified a definitive cause or issued final recommendations. Airbus specialists and France’s BEA investigators have examined the aircraft in Delhi, and their findings have been sent to the AAIB, which is continuing its investigation into the Phuket-Delhi flight injuries.