Pilot Smoked Marijuana, Failed 2 Dope Tests After Phuket-Delhi Flight: Sources

The pilot in command of the Air India aircraft from Phuket to Delhi, in which several passengers were injured after it was hit by turbulence, has failed a second dope test as well, sources have confirmed.

AI-2379, carrying 137 passengers and eight crew members, was on its way to Delhi from Phuket on August 4 when it faced turbulence and experienced a sudden loss of altitude of 300 feet during its cruise phase. At least 13 passengers and four crew members suffered injuries. Of these, two crew members sustained spinal injuries near the tailbone and neck, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said. 

Sources had told NDTV on Sunday that the pilot had tested positive for psychoactive substances during the post-flight screening in Delhi. Another test was conducted some time later, and sources said on Tuesday that this was also positive. Specifically, the test confirmed that the pilot had smoked marijuana, which is commonly known as weed. 

Recounting the chain of events, the sources said the pilot was not in his seat, with the co-pilot in command of the Airbus A320neo when the flight plummeted 300 feet, whether because of pilot action, technical failure or a hydraulic failure, and went into a 'negative-G' scenario. The pilot floated up, as did things in the cockpit, and this is when people who were not strapped-in in the back of the plane suffered serious injuries.