Air India flight AI-171 crash: Black box data successfully retrieved

Following the June 13 crash, the AAIB constituted a multidisciplinary investigation team, led by its Director General, in line with international protocols. The team includes an aviation medicine expert, an Air Traffic Control officer and representatives from the US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the designated agency from the aircraft’s state of manufacture.

Both the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) were located at the crash site. The first was found on June 13 on a rooftop, while the second was retrieved from debris on June 16. As per procedure, the devices were kept under round-the-clock police protection and CCTV surveillance in Ahmedabad.

On June 24, both recorders were flown to Delhi by Indian Air Force aircraft. The front black box arrived at the AAIB lab at 2 pm along with the DG, AAIB. The rear black box, carried by a second AAIB team, reached the lab at 5.15 pm.

On the evening of June 24, a team comprising technical experts from AAIB and NTSB began the data extraction process. The Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved. On June 25, the memory module was accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB lab.

The analysis of data from both the CVR and FDR is underway. Investigators aim to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the crash and identify contributing factors to strengthen future aviation safety.

All actions have been carried out in compliance with India’s domestic laws and international obligations under the ICAO Chicago Convention and Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017.