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The data is crucial as it will help shed light on the cause of
the country's worst aviation disaster in recent memory.
A team led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, or
AAIB, has started looking at the data with support from the U.S.
National Transport Safety Board, the ministry said in a
statement.
“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.
Indian investigators recovered the black boxes from the wreckage
site in the northwestern Indian city of Ahmedabad, a couple of
days after the London-bound Air India flight 171 struck a
residential area minutes after takeoff. The crash killed 241
people onboard and at least 29 on the ground. There was one
survivor.
The so-called “black box” is one of the most important pieces of
forensic evidence following a plane crash. There are typically
two sturdy devices, the cockpit voice recorder and the flight
data recorder. And they’re typically orange, not black.
Indian authorities flew the black boxes from Ahmedabad to the
national capital in an Indian Air Force aircraft amid tight
security early this week. The investigation could take weeks or
months.
India set up a state-of-the-art laboratory in New Delhi in April
to help AAIB repair damaged black boxes and retrieve data to
enhance the accuracy of investigations.
A multidisciplinary team led by AAIB Chief GVG Yugandhar is
probing the Air India crash with assistance from aviation and
air traffic control specialists and experts from the National
Transport Safety Board.
The Indian government has also set up a separate, high-level
committee to examine the causes leading to the crash and
formulate procedures to prevent and handle aircraft emergencies
in the future. The committee is expected to file a preliminary
report within three months.
Following the June 12 crash, Indian authorities had ordered
deeper checks of Air India’s entire fleet of Boeing 787
Dreamliner to prevent future incidents.
Air India has 33 Dreamliner in its fleet. Inspection has been
completed for at least 26 while four were undergoing long-term
maintenance. The rest were expected to finish the safety checks
soon.
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