Archive · 11 Aug 2026
FIP President Explains Air India Turbulence, Altitude Drop Causes
An Air India airplane suddenly dropped about 300 feet in the sky.
This happened because it flew into very rough air, called severe turbulence.
A pilot leader named Captain CS Randhawa explained why this happens.
Big storm clouds, called CB cells, can cause this kind of rough air.
Inside these clouds, the air moves up and down very fast and very strongly.
These strong air currents can push an airplane up and down suddenly.
Pilots can see these dangerous clouds on a special radar in the cockpit.
On the radar screen, the dangerous clouds show up as red or amber zones.
So pilots turn the plane at least 30-40 miles away before getting close to these clouds.
This keeps everyone on the plane safer.
An Air India flight suffered an altitude drop of approximately 300 feet during severe turbulence.
FIP President Captain CS Randhawa told Times Now Digital that severe turbulence is caused by convective weather activity like CB cells.
Strong updrafts and downdrafts are prevalent inside these storm clouds, which can affect aircraft altitude.
On weather radars, CB cells are depicted in red/amber zones.
Pilots request a deviation of track of at least 30-40 miles before arriving into these zones.
- Who
- Captain CS Randhawa, President of the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), and the Air India flight crew affected by the incident
- What
- An Air India flight dropped approximately 300 feet in altitude during severe turbulence, and the FIP President explained its causes and weather monitoring practices
- When
- Not specified in the article
- Where
- Not specified in the article; relates to an Air India flight
- Why
- Severe turbulence caused by convective weather activity such as CB cells with strong updrafts and downdrafts
- Incident
- Air India flight altitude drop during severe turbulence
- Altitude loss
- Approximately 300 feet
- Cause
- Severe turbulence from convective weather activity like CB cells
- CB cells
- Storm clouds containing strong updrafts and downdrafts
- Radar depiction
- Red/amber zones on weather radars
- Pilot action
- Request track deviation of at least 30-40 miles before entering the zones
- Source
- Times Now Digital exclusive interview
- Speaker
- Captain CS Randhawa, President, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP)