Horror as Air India Plane Suddenly Plunges, Pilot Tests Positive for Cannabis
An Air India pilot has tested positive for cannabis while operating a flight from Phuket to New Delhi last week. The aircraft, which suddenly plunged 300 feet (91 metres), managed to land safely.
The plane was carrying 145 people, comprising 137 passengers and eight crew members.
According to sources familiar with the matter, as reported by Reuters on Wednesday (12/8/2026), the captain of the Air India Phuket–New Delhi flight tested positive for cannabis in a confirmatory drug test. The positive result was confirmed in a second test conducted on the unnamed pilot.
The information emerged after India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation summoned Air India CEO Campbell Wilson over the incident involving the Airbus A320neo.
Air India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation declined to comment on the report.
Wilson told local Indian media that the airline had submitted a report to the ministry on the status of the investigation into the incident.
The summons came days after Indian authorities launched an investigation into the incident, which left 13 passengers and four crew members injured.
The flight from the Thai resort city experienced a “momentary change in altitude” while crossing the eastern Indian state of Odisha, according to the Indian government. The aircraft landed safely in New Delhi.
On Sunday (9/8), India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation stated that an initial examination of the Air India pilot to detect psychoactive substances had produced results requiring laboratory confirmation.
Accordingly, Bloomberg reported that the pilot underwent a second examination to determine whether he was under the influence of psychoactive substances when the aircraft suddenly lost altitude in mid-air.
Testing for psychoactive substances is standard procedure in critical investigations, and a non-negative indication on the first test requires a confirmatory test.
In this case, according to sources cited by Reuters and Bloomberg, the second test also returned a positive result.
Aviation safety has become a major concern for India’s rapidly growing aviation industry, following a fatal accident involving an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2025 and various other safety negligence incidents.