Black Box data ‘accessed and downloaded’ from crashed Air India flight AI-171, Civil Aviation Ministry confirms

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday confirmed that investigators have successfully accessed and downloaded the data from one of the black boxes of the ill-fated Air India flight AI-171, which crashed in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff earlier this month.

In an official statement, the Ministry said the memory module from the front black box, which houses the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), was successfully retrieved and its data downloaded on June 25 at the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Lab in Delhi.

“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 ministry said in a statement.

The development is considered a crucial step in piecing together the timeline and cause of the crash.

The AAIB, which is leading the probe, initiated the investigation immediately after the June accident. In line with international aviation norms under the ICAO Convention, a multidisciplinary team has been formed, led by the Director General of AAIB. The team includes an aviation medicine expert, an Air Traffic Control (ATC) officer, and technical representatives from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as the aircraft was manufactured and designed in the United States.

The CVR and Flight Data Recorder (FDR), often referred to as black boxes, were recovered from the crash site between June 13 and 16. These were later flown under heavy security to Delhi on June 24.

The AAIB and NTSB teams began the data extraction process the same evening. Work is now underway to analyse both CVR and FDR recordings to reconstruct the chain of events that led to the tragedy.

“All procedures have been followed in full compliance with Indian laws and international obligations,” the Ministry said.

The fatal crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad claimed the lives of 241 out of the 242 people on board.

Just two months earlier, in April 2025, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu had inaugurated the Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder Laboratory at the AAIB headquarters in New Delhi. Commonly known as the ‘Black Box Lab’, the ₹9 crore facility was set up to enable in-country analysis of flight recorders, significantly reducing dependence on overseas labs for critical aviation accident investigations.