Air India Plane Crash: Data From Front Black Box Downloaded, Analysis Underway, Says Government

In a significant development in the probe into the Air India Flight AI-171 crash, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has successfully retrieved and downloaded critical data from the flight’s front black box, the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement.

This comes as part of a multi-agency investigation being carried out under international protocols.

The investigation was initiated immediately after the 12 June plane crash in Ahmedabad, which resulted in deaths of 241 out of 242 people onboard the aircraft.

Following the crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) constituted a multidisciplinary team on 13 June.

The team, constituted as per international protocol, is led by DG AAIB, and includes an aviation medicine specialist, an ATC officer, and representatives from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is government investigative agency from the country of manufacture and design, (United States), as required for such investigations.

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 and the other from the debris on 16 June.

The devices were stored under 24x7 police guard and CCTV monitoring in Ahmedabad before being transported to Delhi by Indian Air Force aircraft with full security cover on 24 June.

"The front black box arrived AAIB Lab, Delhi with the DG, AAIB at 1400 hrs on 24 June, 2025. The rear black box was brought by a second AAIB team and reached AAIB Lab, Delhi at 1715 hrs on 24 June, 2025," the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

On the evening of 24 June, the team led by DG AAIB with technical members from AAIB and NTSB began the data extraction process, the ministry said.

"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 added.

The ministry said that the analysis of CVR and FDR data is underway.

"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," the ministry said, adding that all actions have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time bound manner.

Also Read: Prime Minister Modi Pushes For Time-Bound Execution Of Key Infra Projects At PRAGATI Meeting