In a crucial breakthrough in the investigation of the June 12 Air India crash, authorities announced on Thursday that data from the aircraft’s black box has been successfully extracted and is currently being analysed. The black box, belonging to the Ahmedabad–London flight, was severely damaged in the post-crash fire.
The Civil Aviation Ministry confirmed that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) had managed to retrieve the Crash Protection Module (CPM) and the memory module from the damaged device, and the data has now been downloaded.
“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.
The data extraction process began on June 24, led by the Director General of the AAIB and a team of technical experts. “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 stated.
According to the ministry, the analysis of both the CVR and FDR data is now underway. “All efforts have been conducted in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time-bound manner. 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.
The black box comprises two vital components, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), which captures pilot conversations and any distress calls, and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), which stores information related to engine performance and control settings. Both devices are designed to survive crashes.
