Air India pilot was on sleep medication before 300-foot plunge, safety report reveals

Vashistha, who has reportedly tested positive for marijuana in two separate drug tests, said he had been experiencing difficulty sleeping due to personal circumstances and had been prescribed medication by his family doctor.

"I disclose, for completeness, that I had separately been experiencing sleep difficulty over a preceding period, related to personal circumstances, for which I had been prescribed medication by my family doctor," he said in his statement.

He said that during the layover in Phuket, he tried to rest but found it difficult to sleep. He therefore went for a walk, believing that light physical activity would help improve his sleep.

Pilot cites compressed rest periods

Vashistha also raised concerns about the scheduling of his duties. While he acknowledged that the roster was within legally prescribed rest limits, he said the schedule had "compressed available daytime rest", which he claimed was often insufficient for adequate recovery.

For the first flight, he was required to report for duty at 12:10 a.m., meaning preparations for the flight had to begin well before 10 p.m.

After completing the flight, post-flight formalities and the journey to the Phuket hotel took around 1.5 to two hours, further reducing his available daytime rest.

For the return flight, he said he had to wake up at around 3 a.m. IST.

Pilot was reportedly out of his seat during altitude loss

Air India flight AI-2379, an Airbus A320neo carrying 137 passengers and eight crew members, was flying from Phuket to Delhi on August 4 when it suddenly lost around 300 feet of altitude.

At least 20 passengers and four crew members were injured. The aircraft subsequently landed safely in Delhi.

The internal incident report reportedly indicates that Vashistha was not in the cockpit seat when the sudden descent occurred, with the co-pilot in command at the time.

According to reports, Vashistha later went into the cabin to check on injured passengers and allegedly asked passengers not to film him or the aircraft.

After landing in Delhi, he was reportedly unsteady on his feet and had to be helped to sit down. An investigating officer also physically assisted him while he provided his urine sample.

Questions over events in Phuket

On the earlier Delhi-Phuket flight, Vashistha reportedly left the cockpit to use the washroom and, as required under procedure, asked a cabin crew member to occupy his seat temporarily.

The cabin attendant was allegedly unable to handle the operational requirements properly and was reprimanded by the pilot.

NDTV's sources said Vashistha later sought to make amends and took the crew to a party in Phuket before the return flight.

Both pilots taken off roster

The circumstances surrounding the sudden altitude loss, the pilot's conduct and his drug-test results are now part of an ongoing investigation.

Both pilots have been taken off roster pending the inquiry.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation and other authorities are examining the incident to determine what caused the aircraft to lose altitude and whether fatigue, medication, pilot conduct or any other factor played a role.