New Delhi: In a significant development in the probe into the June 12 Air India plane crash incident, data from the black box of the ill-fated flight has been successfully downloaded and is being analysed, the government said on Thursday. The black box of the Ahmedabad-London Air India flight that crashed on June 12 suffered heavy damage due to post crash fire. Earlier some reports suggested that the government may send flight’s back box to US for the data extraction process.
However, the Civil Aviation Ministry today said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has now succeeded in safely extracting the Crash Protection Module, or CPM, and the memory module, and downloaded its data.
The black box of an aircraft records the cockpit conversations and data related to engine and control settings which help in ascertaining the cause of the crash. It consists of two devices – the Cockpit Voice Recorder, or CVR, and the Flight Data Recorder, or FDR. While the CVR records pilots’ conversation and any distress signal made before crash, FDR stores information related to engine and control settings. Both devices are designed to survive a crash.
“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…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. 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. Subsequently, the black boxes were brought from Ahmedabad to Delhi by IAF aircraft with full security on 24 June, 2025,” the ministry said in a statement.
Data extraction
“A team led by DG AAIB with technical members began the data extraction process on June 24. The Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved, and on 25 June, 2025, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB Lab,” the ministry said.
It further said that the analysis of CVR and FDR data is underway. All actions have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time bound manner, the ministry said. “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,” it added.
