The Civil Aviation Ministry has said that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started investigating the AI-171 plane crash as per the Chicago Convention Agreement.
As per international protocol, a team has been formed under the leadership of the Director General of AAIB for the investigation.
It also includes an aviation medical expert, an air traffic control officer and representatives of the US government investigation agency National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
An Air India plane going to London crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. Air India had said that 241 of the 242 passengers on board the plane died. Only one passenger survived this accident.
In this accident, some people on the ground were also hit by the plane and at least 270 people died in total. This is one of the most painful plane crashes in the history of India.
The ministry has informed that both the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) have been recovered.
The black box was brought from Ahmedabad to AAIB Lab Delhi on 24 June 2025 with full security from the Indian Air Force plane.
The team of technical members of AAIB and NTSB in the lab has safely extracted the data. With this, the analysis of CVR and FDR data has started.
Recovery of Black Boxes
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. The devices were kept under 24x7 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 front black box arrived AAIB Lab, Delhi with the DG, AAIB on 24 June, 2025. The rear black box was brought by a second AAIB team and reached AAIB Lab, Delhi on 24 June, 2025.
Data Extraction and Current Status
On the evening of 24 June 2025, the team led by DG AAIB with technical members from AAIB and NTSB began the data extraction process. 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 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.
All actions have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time bound manner, said the ministry press release.