Air India Crash: Data From Black Boxes Downloaded In Delhi Lab

Data from the black boxes of Air India Flight AI-171 has been successfully downloaded, marking a significant step in the investigation, the government said on Thursday.

Following the accident involving the Air India flight, the The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau initiated an investigation and constituted a multidisciplinary team on June 13, 2025, in line with prescribed norms. The team recovered both the Cockpit Voice Recorders and Flight Data Recorders—one from a rooftop at the crash site on June 13, 2025, and the other from the debris on June 16, 2025.

The black boxes were transported from Ahmedabad to Delhi by IAF aircraft. The front black box arrived at the AAIB Lab in Delhi with the DG, and the rear black box was brought by a second AAIB team, reaching the lab on the same day.

On the evening of June 24, 2025, the team led by the DG AAIB, along with technical members from AAIB and NTSB, began the data extraction process.

The Crash Protection Module 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 currently underway. These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identifying contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences.

On June 12, Air India's flight AI 171 crashed shortly after takeoff in the afternoon. The plane was heading from Ahmedabad to London's Gatwick. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner tore into the hostel mess of BJ Medical College. Of the 242 people on board the flight, only one survived.