Air India A320 Briefly Loses All Three Hydraulic Systems Mid-Flight, Plunges 300 Feet; 24 Injured
An Air India Airbus A320 operating flight AI2379 from Phuket to Delhi experienced a rare and brief loss of hydraulic control across all three of its independent systems on August 4, 2026, resulting in a sudden altitude drop of about 300 feet that injured 24 people on board.
According to an initial assessment by aircraft manufacturer Airbus of the plane’s digital flight data recorder (DFDR), the green, blue and yellow hydraulic systems registered pressure losses in quick succession within roughly one to two seconds. This temporarily left key flight-control surfaces, including the elevators which control nose-up and nose-down pitch and ailerons which control roll, unresponsive for approximately four seconds.
During that window the aircraft pitched upward, the autopilot disconnected, and a stall warning was triggered. The first officer, who was flying the aircraft, applied full nose-down input, but the control surfaces did not respond immediately because of the hydraulic loss. Once the systems began recovering within seconds, the abrupt downward correction caused rapid negative-G forces that threw passengers and cabin crew upward, leading to the injuries.
The aircraft, registered VT-EXO and carrying 145 people, 137 passengers and eight crew, stabilised after the event and continued to Delhi, where it landed safely. Of those injured, reports indicate 20 passengers and four cabin crew members were affected; some required hospital treatment for injuries including to the neck and spine. Air India had initially described the occurrence as turbulence-related, but subsequent data and Airbus’s preliminary analysis pointed to the hydraulic and flight-control sequence instead.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has classified the event as a serious incident and is leading the probe, with technical assistance from Airbus and France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA). Airbus has not yet determined whether the pressure indications reflected an actual hydraulic failure or a spurious signal (possibly from a faulty pressure switch or related components) and has asked Air India to conduct further maintenance checks and inspections.
