Black box data successfully retrieved from Air India crash site

In a significant breakthrough, investigators have successfully retrieved and downloaded critical data from the black boxes of the Air India Express flight that crashed on June 12. The crash, which involved the aircraft colliding with a college hostel rooftop, had raised concerns about the condition of the black boxes—comprising the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)—both of which sustained damage in the impact.

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Initial reports indicated that due to the damage, authorities might need to send the black boxes to the United States for advanced forensic analysis. However, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has now confirmed that the data was successfully extracted without requiring international assistance.

According to officials, both the FDR and CVR were recovered from the crash site—one found on the hostel rooftop and the other buried in the wreckage. The boxes were transported to the AAIB laboratory in New Delhi on June 24. On the same day, experts managed to safely retrieve the Crash Protection Module and memory units from both devices and successfully download the data.

The recovered data is now being analysed to determine the sequence of events leading to the crash. This information is expected to be crucial in identifying the cause of the accident and improving future aviation safety protocols.