AI 171 crash: ‘Data from front black box downloaded, probe on,’ says government | India News

NEW DELHI: Data from a black box of the ill-fated Air India Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, was downloaded on Wednesday. “The analysis of (black boxes) 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,” the aviation ministry stated in an announcement Thursday.The delay in saying the composition of staff probing AI 171 crash together with no prelim report a fortnight after the accident has raised questions on the method.“On the evening of June 24, the team led by DG Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau with technical members from and (America’s) National Transportation Safety Board (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 aviation ministry stated on Thursday.Defending the probe course of, the assertion stated the AAIB had “promptly initiated an investigation and constituted a multidisciplinary team on June 13, in line with prescribed norms. The team, constituted as per international protocol, is led by DG AAIB, and includes an aviation medicine specialist, an ATC officer, and representatives from NTSB which is government investigative agency from the state of manufacture and design, (USA), as required for such investigations.”Both the “cockpit voice recorders” (CVR) and flight information recorders (FDR) had been recovered, one from a rooftop of the constructing on the crash web site on June 13 and the opposite from the particles 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. Subsequently, the black boxes were brought from Ahmedabad to Delhi by IAF aircraft with full security on June 24, 2025,” it stated.The front black box arrived AAIB Lab, Delhi with the DG, AAIB at 2 pm on June 24. The rear black box was introduced by a second AAIB staff and reached AAIB Lab, Delhi, a fe hours later at 5.15 pm.“All actions have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time bound manner,” the govt. stated.As a signatory to the ICAO Chicago Convention (1944), India says it investigates plane accidents in accordance with ICAO Annex 13 and the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017. AAIB is the designated authority for such investigations.