New Delhi: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has begun analyzing the black box data recovered from the crash site of Air India Flight AI171, which crashed moments after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, the government said.
Both the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) were recovered from the Ahmedabad crash site—one from a rooftop on June 13 and the other from the debris on June 16—and were flown to Delhi.
Last week, it was reported that the government may send the FDR and CVR to the United States for forensic extraction of data. However, in a big breakthrough, the AAIB has succeeded in safely extracting the Crash Protection Module, or CPM, and the memory module, and downloaded all data.
The CVR data is expected to shed light on cockpit conversations, crew responses, and ambient sounds, while the FDR contains parameters like altitude, airspeed, flight control inputs, and engine performance.
"Analysis of CVR and FDR data underway. These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety," the government said.
It is still unclear what caused the crash, but the prevailing theory, backed by audio and video of the crash that seems to show deployment of Ram Air Turbine, is either a dual engine malfunction or a system-wide hydraulic or electronic failure.
Meanwhile, a parliamentary committee is expected to convene next week to discuss safety issues in the civil aviation sector, including aircraft maintenance concerns.
