Investigators have made significant progress in determining the cause of the Air India Flight AI171 crash that occurred on June 12, 2025, near Ahmedabad, India. The crash of the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner shortly after takeoff resulted in the deaths of 241 passengers and crew members, as well as 34 people on the ground. In a crucial development, data from the aircraft's black boxes has been successfully recovered and is currently being analyzed.
The black boxes, which consist of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), are essential for understanding the events leading up to the crash. The CVR captures audio from the cockpit, including conversations between the pilots and other sounds, while the FDR records various flight parameters such as altitude, airspeed, flight control inputs, and engine performance.
The investigation is being led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with the participation of technical experts from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The AAIB recovered the two black boxes from the crash site. The first black box was found on June 13 on the rooftop of a building at the crash site, and the second was found on June 16 in the debris. Due to the extensive damage caused by the intense fire following the crash, there were initial concerns about the possibility of recovering usable data from the black boxes. The temperature in and around the crash site reached approximately 1,000 degrees Celsius.
Despite the damage, the AAIB team successfully extracted the Crash Protection Module (CPM) and the memory module from the front black box. The data extraction process began on June 24 and was completed on June 25 at the AAIB laboratory in Delhi. Both black boxes were transported from Ahmedabad to Delhi on June 24 under strict security measures, utilizing an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft.
The data analysis is now underway, with investigators meticulously examining the CVR and FDR information to reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the accident and identify any contributing factors. The CVR data is expected to provide insights into the crew's actions, communication, and any potential issues they may have encountered during the flight's initial moments. The FDR data will offer a detailed record of the aircraft's performance, allowing investigators to assess its systems' functionality and identify any anomalies.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has stated that the investigation is being conducted in accordance with domestic laws and international obligations, with a commitment to completing the probe within three months. The ministry has also assured that the black boxes were secured under round-the-clock police protection and CCTV surveillance before being transported to Delhi.
While the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation, aviation experts have suggested various possibilities, including dual engine failure. The successful recovery and analysis of the black box data represent a significant step forward in determining the cause of the Air India Flight AI171 crash and preventing similar incidents in the future.
