Investigation into the tragic Ahmedabad air crash of Air India flight AI-171, led by the Director General of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), has started to analyse the data recovered from the aircraft’s black boxes. 

The development assumes significance as the analysis of the data will help to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences.

On Thursday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), in a status report on recovery and examination of data from black boxes, said the analysis of Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) data is underway. 

Multidisciplinary team

According to MoCA, following the accident, the AAIB initiated an investigation and constituted a multidisciplinary team on June 13, 2025, in line with prescribed norms.

The AAIB is the designated authority for such investigations.

As per MoCA, the team, constituted as per international protocol, is led by DG AAIB GVG Yugandhar and includes an aviation medicine specialist, an ATC officer, and representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is a government investigative agency from the state of manufacture and design (USA), as required for such investigations.

Besides, the ministry pointed out that both the CVR and FDR were recovered—one from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on June 13, 2025, and the other from the debris on June 16, 2025. 

“‘Standard Operating Procedures’ were issued for their secure handling, storage, and transportation. The devices were kept under 24x7 police protection and CCTV surveillance in Ahmedabad,” the ministry said.

“Subsequently, the black boxes were brought from Ahmedabad to Delhi by IAF aircraft with full security on June 24, 2025.”

Published on June 26, 2025