The Indian government has confirmed that investigators have successfully recovered flight recorder data from the Air India crash earlier this month, marking a significant step in the probe.
The crash occurred on June 12, when an Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner traveling from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick airport crashed shortly after taking off, resulting in the deaths of at least 270 people.
The investigation team, led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) with assistance from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), has accessed data from the Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders (EAFRs), also known as “black boxes.”
The recorders were recovered from the crash site on June 13 and 16, with one found on a rooftop and the other in the debris. The data from the recorders is being analyzed to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors.
The flight recorders carry crucial data that can help determine the cause of the incident. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captures pilot radio calls, individual mic audio, and ambient cockpit sounds, while the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) tracks flight data with high precision, including the position of gear and flap levers, thrust settings, engine performance, fuel flow, and fire handle activation.
“The analysis of CVR and FDR data is underway,” the aviation ministry said in a statement. “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.”
US National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy expressed her hope that the Indian government will share details from the investigation into the crash in short order. “For aviation safety and for public safety and public awareness, we hope that they will make their findings public swiftly,” Homendy said. She also praised the cooperation between the Indian government and the AAIB, saying, “We have had excellent cooperation from the Indian government and the AAIB.”
The investigation is ongoing, and it may take several weeks before the federal government releases information gathered from the recorders about the accident. The delay in downloading and investigating data from the flight recorders has raised questions among aviation experts, some of whom described it as unusual.