AI-171 Tragedy: Black Box Data Recovered as Probe into India’s Worst Air Crash Advances

India’s worst aviation tragedy in a decade—the Air India Flight AI-171 crash—has reached a crucial investigative milestone. On June 26, India’s Civil Aviation Ministry announced the successful recovery and download of critical flight recorder data from the aircraft’s black boxes. This Boeing 787 Dreamliner, en route to London, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, killing all 242 on board and 18 on the ground. The recovered Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR), retrieved in separate operations, are now being analyzed at the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) lab in Delhi. This process is vital for reconstructing the final moments before the crash and identifying potential failures. Despite severe fire damage at the crash site, with temperatures exceeding 1,000°C, the data was successfully extracted—thanks to the crash-protected modules designed to withstand extreme conditions. In collaboration with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, Indian investigators are focusing on the aircraft’s rapid altitude loss and the possible malfunction of both engines, indicated by the reported activation of the emergency ram air turbine (RAT). Officials stress that the findings could take up to 30 days to culminate in a preliminary report. This delay in beginning the download—unusual for high-profile cases—sparked concerns in the global aviation community. Still, U.S. officials praised India’s cooperation. The successful data extraction marks a turning point in understanding the disaster and improving future aviation safety standards.