Plane Crash: Air India Flight's Black Box Damaged, "This Is Mystery"

• More than 260 were killed when a London-bound plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, in the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade
• India's civil aviation authorities have already said black boxes were found at the Air India plane crash site in Ahmedabad
• An India-based media platform reported how the ill-fated Air India flight's black box was damaged and what would follow

Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering global affairs.

Ahmedabad, India - The black boxes recovered from the wreckage of Air India Flight AI-171, which crashed just 36 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, have sustained varying levels of damage.

At least 270 people, most of them passengers, were killed when the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed less than a minute after taking off from Ahmedabad airport in western India.

As reported by NDTV on Friday, June 20, two black box units have been recovered - one unit is more damaged than the other.

The development reportedly cast fresh uncertainty over what led to one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters in recent history.

Sources disclosed that there is a possibility that the less-damaged unit’s data can be retrieved domestically, while the more compromised recorder may require international forensic expertise. A decision is expected soon.

Individuals involved in the crash investigation divulged that a preliminary inspection shows external structural compromise, which, if not handled delicately, could risk internal data integrity.

A senior aviation official familiar with the probe said:

“This is a mystery. The black boxes are the only way we’ll ever know what happened in that cockpit.”

The aircraft's black box, including the damaged Digital Flight Data Recorder, is likely to be sent to the US for data recovery.

Black boxes crucial to Air India investigation

Black boxes, despite the name, are bright orange to help with visibility in crash debris. So, it is easier to spot in the wreckage.

And it is not one device — it is two: Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR).

The CVR stores the final two hours of cockpit audio:

• Pilot conversations
• ATC (Air Traffic Control) exchanges
• Warning alarms
• Engine and cockpit sounds

As the technical heartbeat of the flight, it captures the human side of the flight.

• Altitude
• Speed
• Heading
• Engine thrust
• Gear and flap positions
• Pilot control inputs

Black box of Indian plane crash

Below are what we know:

1. Sabotage needs to be ruled out.
2. Sources on the crash of AI-171 stated: "this is a mystery."
3. Options under consideration: The black boxes may be sent to a HAL facility near Lucknow, the NTSB in the United States (US), the Civil Aviation Authority in the United Kingdom, or to Singapore.
4. One of the black boxes has sustained damage to its outer surface. This damage occurred as a result of a fall.
5. Two black box units have been recovered - one unit is more damaged than the other.
6. A decision on what to do with the black boxes will be taken soon.
7. Investigators are concerned about opening the damaged black box due to the condition of its outer casing.
8. It is possible that data from the second, undamaged unit can be retrieved within India.
9. The data on both the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and the CVR is stored in binary format. This data must be converted into an engineering format, after which information will become accessible. The interpretation of this data will form the basis of the crash report.
10. It remains unclear whether a preliminary report or a final report will be issued.
11. India's aviation regulator, the directorate general of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has stepped up randomised surveillance of relevant flights during the interim period.
12. The investigation will include analysis of debris samples and material samples from the surface of the runway.

Read more on the Indian plane crash:

• List of names of those lost in the plane crash that killed over 200 released
• Air India: Families in pain as they give DNA samples to help identify loved ones who died in crash

Plane crash: Ex-Indian state minister dies

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani died in the Air India flight crash.

Gujarat BJP president CR Patil disclosed that Vijay Rupani was among the victims of the tragic plane crash that caught the attention of the world.

Subsequently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Rupani's relatives and remembered him as a humble and hardworking leader.

Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng