'Pilot Seemed High When We Were Boarding': Passenger On Phuket-Delhi Flight

Levelling serious allegations against the captain of the Phuket-Delhi flight which lost altitude and plummeted 300 feet last week, a passenger who was on the plane said the pilot was visibly high before the plane took off and, after the incident, asked passengers not to record anything, saying "baat ka batangad ban jayega" (it would be making a mountain out of a molehill). 

AI-2379, carrying 137 passengers and eight crew members, was on its way to Delhi from Phuket on August 4 when it experienced a sudden loss of altitude during its cruise phase. At least 20 passengers and four crew members were injured.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV's Shiv Aroor on Tuesday, hours after sources said that the captain of the plane had failed two dope tests and had smoked marijuana, the passenger, who requested that his name not be revealed, also questioned why the pilot did not make an emergency landing to ensure the injured could get immediate medical attention. 

READ | Phuket-Delhi Flight's Pilot Smoked Marijuana, Failed 2 Dope Tests: Sources

"My brother and I were the last passengers to board the flight and the pilot boarded with us. I spoke to him and asked him whether the flight was on time and whether we were late. He was very slow to respond and his eyes were red. I told my brother then that he seemed high, and you all know what happened after that," the man said. 

Asked whether they did not feel that was serious enough not to board the flight, the passenger replied there was no way to be sure. 

"After the first test, which the pilot failed, I called my brother and told him (we were right). When we were leaving the airport, a media person asked us about the incident, and I said the pilot appeared to be high. I was made fun of. There were memes and everything. People asked how I thought he could fly when high," he recalled. 

Recounting the moments when the flight lost altitude, the man said there was a deafening noise and his brother hit the ceiling of the plane several times. 

READ | Inside The Cockpit: What Went Wrong On Air India's Phuket-Delhi Flight

"So, two hours into the flight, after breakfast was served and everyone was relaxing, my brother and I were sitting together, and our eyes were closed. Suddenly we heard a very loud sound, like a fighter jet. The next thing I knew, I saw my brother hit the roof three to four times, and everything was flying around. People were bleeding, shouting, crying for help, telling the pilot to stop," he said. 

Emergency Landing

"For the first time in my life, I saw a pilot come out of the cockpit and then coach the passengers not to record or not do this or that. His clear statement, which has been recorded in videos as well, was 'baat ka batangad ban jayega'. We were in a life-and-death situation; who is so worried about being recorded? His major concern was not how he could ensure medical treatment for everyone. His thing was to land in Delhi, so he didn't have to answer any questions or anything like that. So he did not make any emergency landing anywhere else," the passenger alleged.

The man said the pilot spoke about Lucknow being close. 

"Then the pilot said, 'Lucknow doesn't have good medical infrastructure. So I think we should land in Delhi.' Who gave him the power to think? Why didn't he follow the SOP?" the passenger asked.