Air India Plane Crash: Black Box Found in Ahmedabad – Here’s What Comes Next in the Investigation

Ahmedabad: In a major breakthrough following the tragic crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, the aircraft’s black box has been successfully recovered from the rooftop of a medical college hostel in Meghani Nagar. The critical component, believed to hold answers to the cause of the deadly incident, was located after an intensive search operation.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner went down shortly after takeoff, claiming numerous lives and shaking the nation. Aviation experts believe that the black box data—consisting of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR)—will play a vital role in uncovering the sequence of events that led to the crash.

“The black box recovery is a major step forward,” said Nitin Jadhav, National President of the Council of Indian Aviation. “We expect it to offer key insights into whether this was a technical failure, operational error, or something else entirely.”

What Is the Black Box?

Despite the name, the black box is actually a bright orange or yellow unit designed to be highly visible during post-crash recovery efforts. Modern aircraft carry two such recorders:

• CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder): Captures all cockpit conversations and ambient sounds, helping investigators piece together what the pilots experienced and how they responded in real-time.
• DFDR (Digital Flight Data Recorder): Logs hundreds of parameters like engine performance, airspeed, altitude, and control inputs.

Invented by Australian scientist Dr. David Warren, the black box is engineered to withstand extreme impact, fire, and underwater conditions, and is usually installed in the tail section of aircraft where damage is often minimal in a crash.

Key Theories Under Probe

While investigators await the decoding of the recovered black box, preliminary assessments have pointed to a few possible technical scenarios. Jadhav offered insights based on the current evidence:

• Overloading or Cargo Shift: A load imbalance could have caused undue stress on the engines during takeoff, potentially triggering a stall.
• Fuel-Related Failures: Simultaneous engine failure may point to fuel contamination or blockages disrupting the supply to the engines.
• Elevator Malfunction: A failure in the elevator—a critical part of the tail that controls pitch—may have rendered the aircraft uncontrollable at liftoff.

Jadhav also raised concerns about shorter runways, suggesting that limited length may have hampered the pilots’ ability to manage takeoff emergencies.

Timeline for Analysis

If the investigation continues solely under Indian jurisdiction, black box decoding and preliminary reporting could take between 2 to 4 days. However, should Boeing or engine manufacturer General Electric (GE), based in Seattle, join the probe, the analysis period may extend to 10–15 days due to deeper technical assessments.

Ruling Out Other Causes

Jadhav ruled out pilot error for now and dismissed popular speculation about a bird strike.

“Birds don’t fly in flocks at such low altitude during takeoff, and there is no visual or radar-based evidence to support that theory,” he noted. Modern aircraft, he added, undergo intensive bird-strike testing to prevent exactly such disasters.

While foul play has not been completely ruled out, Jadhav clarified that although aircraft avionics can be externally jammed, the engines themselves cannot be remotely shut down. Even in extreme digital failure cases, aircraft systems are designed to allow a safe emergency landing.

What Lies Ahead

Authorities are now focused on deciphering the black box data and ruling out each potential cause methodically. With mounting public pressure and national attention on the crash, the findings are expected to bring some closure to grieving families and vital learnings for aviation safety.