Air India plane crash: Black box data successfully extracted; CVR, FDR analysis underway

New Delhi: The memory module of the front black box of Air India's ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad has been successfully accessed and its data downloaded at a state-of-the-art government lab here, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Thursday.

In a statement, it said the analysis of Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) is underway and that 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 examination of the two black boxes -- CVR and FDR -- are being carried out at the laboratory of Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which had initiated its probe by a multi-disciplinary team into the June 12 air crash.

The team, constituted as per international protocol, is led by the AAIB Director General and includes an aviation medicine specialist, an ATC officer and representatives from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is government investigative agency from the country of manufacture and design, which is the United States in this case, as required for such investigations.

The black boxes were brought from Ahmedabad to Delhi by an Air Force aircraft with full security on June 24. The front black box arrived at AAIB Lab, Delhi with the DG, AAIB at 2 PM on June 24 while the rear black box was brought by a second AAIB team and reached the lab at 5:15 PM on June 24.

"On the evening of June 24, 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 June 25, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB Lab," the statement said.

"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," it said.

Both the CVR and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) were recovered -- one from a rooftop of the building at the crash site on June 13 and the other from the debris on June 16. Standard Operating Procedures were issued for their secure handling, storage, and transportation and the devices were kept under 24x7 police protection and CCTV surveillance in Ahmedabad, the statement added.