June 27, 2025
NEW DELHI – The Centre said on Thursday that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have started the data extraction process of the Black Box and the Cockpit Voice recorder (CVR) of AI-171, which had crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation said following the unfortunate accident involving Air India Flight AI-171, the AAIB promptly initiated an investigation and constituted a multidisciplinary team on 13 June 2025, in line with prescribed norms.
“India, as a signatory to the ICAO Chicago Convention (1944), investigates aircraft accidents in accordance with ICAO Annex 13 and the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is the designated authority for such investigations,” the Ministry 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, it said.
The team, constituted as per international protocol, is led by DG AAIB, and includes an aviation medicine specialist, an ATC officer, and representatives from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which is government investigative agency from the state of manufacture and design, (the USA), as required for such investigations, it said.
“Both the Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) were recovered—one from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on 13 June, 2025 and the other from the debris on 16 June, 2025,” the Ministry said in a statement.
“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,” the statement said.
“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,” the Ministry said.
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,” the statement said.
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.
