In fresh details on the Air India Phuket-Delhi flight, the pilot-in-command smoked pot, was reportedly found seated on the cockpit floor during turbulence, could barely walk after the incident and was on sleeping medication.

An NDTV report, citing sources, stated that the pilot, upon landing, could not stand straight. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) officer told him that CCTV was monitoring him.

The report further added that the pilot-in-charge was helped to sit down. He was even physically helped by the AAIB investigators to submit his urine sample. 

A day earlier, the Ministry of Civil Aviation confirmed that the pilot failed the drug test. The samples reportedly confirmed that the pilot smoked marijuana. According to reports, he was also on sleep medication.

"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," the pilot said in a flight safety statement quoted by NDTV. 

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What happened before flight?

The flight from Phuket to Delhi was to fly after a layover of less than 24 hours. During this time, the pilot took the crew out for a party to make up for reprimanding one of them on the flight from Delhi to Phuket.

On that flight, he had gone to the bathroom, and the cabin attendant had to sit in his seat as per protocol. The source-based NDTV report further added that the cabin attendant didn't handle the operation nicely and hence was reprimanded.

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On a flight to Delhi on August 4, when a sudden altitude drop happened, the pilot allegedly came out of the cockpit to check on the injured. According to the report, he asked passengers not to film him as he was without a sock and a shoe on one leg.

There were 135 passengers in the plane along with eight crew members. 17 of them sustained injuries and were rushed to the hospital after the aircraft landed at the Delhi airport.