An Air India Airbus A320 that suddenly dropped 300 feet while in flight earlier this month briefly lost key flight controls, according to Reuters.
The outlet said it viewed a preliminary report on the incident from Airbus showing that the aircraft registered a loss of hydraulic pressure, which left the flight controls unresponsive. All three hydraulic systems on board registered a loss of pressure, Airbus found, though it was not clear what caused the loss.
The A320 was flying from Phuket, Thailand, to Delhi on Aug. 4 when it suddenly dropped, injuring 24 people on board. The report determined that the jet experienced forces beyond specified limits during the altitude change.
For around four seconds, the pilots were unable to use the airplane’s elevators and ailerons, Reuters reported. The first officer applied a node-down input, but there was no “direct response” from the flight-control surfaces until the hydraulic systems recovered seconds later.
The flight continued on to Delhi and landed safely there.
Air India initially said the flight experienced severe turbulence. It later revised its statement and said there was a sudden altitude change.
Airbus asked Air India to run tests on the aircraft’s hydraulic system, and it requested certain sensors be removed and sent to Europe for further analysis.
Both Air India and Airbus are continuing to investigate the incident.
