Air India plane crash: Analysis of black box data currently underway, says Centre

New Delhi:  The Centre on Thursday said the analysis of the data from Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) — recovered from the crash site of Air India Boeing Dreamliner 787 aircraft in Ahmedabad — is currently underway in full compliance.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, all actions so far related to Black Boxes have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time-bound manner.

Following the unfortunate accident involving Air India Flight AI-171 on June 12, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) promptly initiated an investigation and constituted a multi-disciplinary team on June 13, in line with prescribed norms.

The team, constituted as per international protocol, is led by Director General AAIB and includes an aviation medicine specialist, an ATC officer, and representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is the government investigative agency from the state of manufacture and design, (USA), as required for such investigations.

Both the CVR and FDR were recovered — one from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on June 13 and the other from the debris on June 16.

“Standard Operating Procedures were issued for their secure handling, storage, and transportation. The devices were kept under 24×7 police protection and CCTV surveillance in Ahmedabad,” said the ministry.

Subsequently, the black boxes were brought from Ahmedabad to Delhi by IAF aircraft with full security on June 24.

“The front black box arrived at AAIB Lab, Delhi with the DG, AAIB at 1400 hrs on 24 June, 2025. The rear black box was brought by a second AAIB team and reached AAIB Lab, Delhi at 1715 hrs on 24 June, 2025,” informed the ministry.

On the evening of June 24, the team led by DG AAIB, with technical members from AAIB and NTSB, began the data extraction process.

The Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved, and on June 25, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB Lab.

“The analysis of CVR and FDR data is underway. These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences,” said the ministry.

The air crash killed nearly 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew members, and has triggered a wider review of aviation safety protocols across the country.

During its probe, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has found several flaws within domestic airline operations at some airports, where “reported defects” reappeared several times on aircraft following inspections.

–IANS