New Delhi: Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday clarified that the black box recovered from the ill-fated Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad earlier this month is being examined in India and has not been sent abroad for analysis, contrary to reports.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Helicopters & Small Aircraft Summit 2025 in Pune, organised jointly by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and FICCI, the minister dismissed media speculation suggesting the black box was being sent overseas. “It is all speculation. The black box is very much in India and is currently being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB),” Naidu said.
Crash kills 270 people
The London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (flight AI171) crashed on June 12 shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. The aircraft plunged into the hostel complex of BJ Medical College in the city’s Meghani Nagar area. At least 270 people, 241 on board and 29 on the ground, died in the incident. Only one passenger survived the crash.
The black box, comprising the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR), was recovered from the crash site on June 13. These devices are crucial in reconstructing the events leading up to aviation disasters.
High-level committee to investigate crash
When asked about the timeline for decoding the black box data, Naidu said, “It is a very technical matter. Let the AAIB conduct the probe and go through the entire process.” He reiterated that the government was fully committed to a thorough and transparent investigation.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has constituted a high-level committee headed by the Union Home Secretary to investigate the causes of the crash. The panel includes senior representatives from both the central and state governments and has been granted access to all relevant records — including flight data, ATC logs, maintenance history, and eyewitness testimonies. The committee has been tasked with submitting its report within three months.
