Latest news with #AircraftAccidentInvestigationBureau
NDTV
3 hours ago
- General
- NDTV
Exclusive: How Air India Flight's Black Box Was Damaged And What Comes Next
New Delhi: The black box units from the wreckage of Air India Flight AI-171, which crashed 36 seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 274 people, including 33 on the ground, have sustained damage. According to aviation sources speaking to NDTV, one of the black boxes is visibly more damaged than the other, likely due to a fall during or after the crash. Both the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), collectively referred to as the "black boxes", are currently in secure custody under the supervision of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). Sources involved in the crash investigation told NDTV that a preliminary inspection shows external structural compromise, which, if not handled delicately, could risk internal data integrity. What We Know 1. Two black box units have been recovered - one unit is more damaged than the other. 2. A decision on what to do with the black boxes will be taken soon. 3. Options under consideration: The black boxes may be sent to a HAL facility near Lucknow, the NTSB in the United States, the Civil Aviation Authority in the United Kingdom, or to Singapore. 4. One of the black boxes has sustained damage to its outer surface. This damage occurred as a result of a fall. 5. The data on both the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) is stored in binary format. This data must be converted into an engineering format, after which information will become accessible. The interpretation of this data will form the basis of the crash report. 6. It remains unclear whether a preliminary report or a final report will be issued. 7. Investigators are concerned about opening the damaged black box due to the condition of its outer casing. 8. It is possible that data from the second, undamaged unit can be retrieved within India. 9. India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has stepped up randomised surveillance of relevant flights during the interim period. 10. The investigation will include analysis of debris samples and material samples from the surface of the runway. 11. Sabotage also needs to be ruled out. 12. Sources on the crash of AI-171 stated: "This is a mystery." What Is A Black Box The black box from the doomed Air India flight was recovered Monday, 28 hours after the crash. The 'black boxes' are actually bright orange in colour to help locate them from debris and wreckage. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captures up to 25 hours of cockpit conversations, noise, radio calls with air traffic control, and audible alerts in newer aircraft models. However, AI-171 was operating a Boeing 787 delivered in 2014, prior to the 2021 mandate for 25-hour CVR storage. Therefore, the recorder likely had a two-hour recording capacity. The Flight Data Recorder (FDR), on the other hand, collects parameters such as altitude, airspeed, heading, vertical acceleration, and control surface movements, among others. In modern jets like the 787-8, FDRs can record thousands of parameters simultaneously and loop for over 25 hours. The Crash And Its Aftermath The aircraft, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner registered VT-ANB, lifted off at 1:39 PM on June 12 from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad, en route to London Gatwick. Less than a minute into the flight, the pilots transmitted a distress call citing loss of thrust. Radio contact was subsequently lost. Seconds later, the aircraft, carrying 242 passengers and crew, crashed into a residential area near Meghani Nagar, adjacent to the airport's northeast perimeter. It ignited a blaze on impact, damaging a medical college hostel and killing 33 people on the ground. The sole survivor, seated in 11A, is a British-Indian man who was thrown clear of the wreckage.
Kuwait Times
6 hours ago
- General
- Kuwait Times
Air India says plane ‘well-maintained' before crash
NEW DELHI: Air India's Boeing plane was 'well-maintained' before it crashed a week ago, killing all but one of 242 people on board, the airline said Thursday. Indian authorities are yet to detail what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to hurtle to the ground in the western city of Ahmedabad, where at least 38 people were also left dead. As investigators attempt to retrieve data from the plane's black boxes — the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder — the airline said that no problems were detected with the jet before the disaster. 'The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023,' Air India said in a statement. 'Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight,' the airline said. The London-bound jet burst into a fireball when it smashed into a residential area of Ahmedabad moments after takeoff. Initial checks since the crash on Air India's Dreamliners 'did not reveal any major safety concerns', the country's civil aviation regulator said Tuesday. India's aviation investigative unit said Thursday the probe was 'progressing steadily'. 'Key recovery work, including site documentation and evidence collection, has been completed, and further analysis is now underway,' the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said in a statement. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. The airline said Thursday the pilots were accomplished flyers. 'The flight was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced pilot and trainer with over 10,000 hours flying widebody aircraft,' it said. 'First Officer Clive Kunder, had over 3,400 hours of flying experience.' While investigators try to piece together what went wrong, families of dozens of victims are still waiting for their loved ones to be identified. As of Thursday, 210 victims have been identified through DNA testing, state health minister Rushikesh Patel said. — AFP
Express Tribune
6 hours ago
- General
- Express Tribune
Air India says plane 'well-maintained'
Air India's Boeing plane was "well-maintained" before it crashed a week ago, killing all but one of 242 people on board, the airline said on Thursday. Indian authorities are yet to detail what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to hurtle to the ground in the western city of Ahmedabad a week ago. At least 38 people were killed in the residential neighbourhood that the plane hit, causing such devastation that DNA analysts are still trying to identify dozens of the dead. As investigators attempt to retrieve data from the plane's black boxes -- the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder -- the airline said no problems were detected with the jet before the disaster. "The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023," Air India said in a statement. "Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight," it said. The London-bound jet burst into a fireball when it smashed down in Ahmedabad moments after takeoff. Initial checks on Air India's Dreamliners since the crash "did not reveal any major safety concerns", the country's civil aviation regulator said on Tuesday. India's aviation investigative unit said on Thursday the probe was "progressing steadily". "Key recovery work, including site documentation and evidence collection, has been completed, and further analysis is now underway," the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said in a statement. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. The pilots were accomplished flyers, according to the airline.
The Hindu
7 hours ago
- The Hindu
Uttarakhand — a hotbed for helicopter accidents
The latest helicopter crash in Uttarakhand — which claimed seven lives, among them a two-year-old child, during a Kedarnath pilgrimage flight — adds yet another tragic entry to the State's already long record as a hotbed of helicopter disasters. Within a brief window of barely two months, the latest is the State's fifth helicopter accident. In May this year, six passengers en route to Gangotri Temple were killed when their aircraft crashed in Uttarkashi district. Reports reveal that the same month witnessed two further incidents — one, a near-catastrophe narrowly avoided in Badrinath, and the other, an AIIMS air-ambulance crash that, fortunately, caused no fatalities — while, more recently in June, a Kedarnath-bound chopper was forced into an emergency landing after a technical snag, highlighting a recurrent aviation crisis in the region. This spate recalls October 2022, when three separate helicopter accidents claimed 13 lives. Two of those tragedies struck defence helicopters operating in Arunachal Pradesh, and on October 18 that year, a commercial chopper ferrying Kedarnath pilgrims crashed, killing all seven people aboard. A conservative analysis of incident summaries filed with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau indicates that at least 14 helicopters — many assigned to ferry pilgrims within Uttarakhand's rugged terrain — crashed between 1990 and 2023. The map plots the approximate departure or intended landing sites for 75 commercial helicopters lost during that period, revealing a concentration of accidents in north-eastern hills as well. In the 1990 and 2023 period, 165 people lost their lives in accidents involving commercial helicopters, as shown in the chart. In these incidents, 126 people were injured, too. Following the latest tragedy, police have charged two senior officials of Aryan Aviation Pvt. Ltd. — the operator of the crashed helicopter — with alleged negligence. Notably, the company also owned the Kedarnath-bound chopper that went down in October 2022, killing seven, and another aircraft that crashed in 2019 after striking an overhead cable. Operating choppers in harsh weather — whether anticipated or sudden — ranks as the third-most frequent cause of helicopter mishaps in the 1990-2023 period. Pilot error or improper handling remains the leading factor, with inadequate maintenance close behind. Other recurring causes include non-adherence to flight rules by crew, technical faults, and entangled with cables (where a helicopter gets entangled in wires/cables used by locals in mountainous regions to transport goods). The chart shows the reasons behind accidents in the period. Moreover, the majority of commercial-helicopter accidents occurred in broad daylight, with most such crashes taking place while the copters were cruising. The chart shows the time of occurrence of fatal commercial helicopter accidents A significant share of accidents also happened during the landing phase, whereas take-off or climb proved to be the safest portions of the journey, registering the fewest accidents in the period, as depicted in the chart below. While it is true that, when analysed over time, the overall number of helicopter-related accidents in India has declined, the recent spate of crashes in Uttarakhand is a grim reminder that such tragedies continue to occur, cutting short lives. It should also be noted that in the recent safety audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, India had improved its 'effective implementation' score to over 85% from the previously low score of 70%. Compiled by B Renuka Ramakrishna, Safa Salsabeel Z, Niranjana VB, and Manaswini Vijayakumar who are interning with The Hindu Data Team Source: The data were sourced from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau sambavi.p@ vignesh.r@
eNCA
11 hours ago
- General
- eNCA
Air India says plane 'well-maintained' before crash
Air India's Boeing plane was "well-maintained" before it crashed a week ago, killing all but one of 242 people on board, the airline said on Thursday. Indian authorities are yet to detail what caused the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to hurtle to the ground in the western city of Ahmedabad a week ago. At least 38 people were killed in the residential neighbourhood that the plane hit, causing such devastation that DNA analysts are still trying to identify dozens of the dead. As investigators attempt to retrieve data from the plane's black boxes -- the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder -- the airline said no problems were detected with the jet before the disaster. "The plane was well-maintained, with its last major check in June 2023," Air India said in a statement. "Its right engine was overhauled in March 2025, and the left engine was inspected in April 2025. Both the aircraft and engines were regularly monitored, showing no issues before the flight," it said. The London-bound jet burst into a fireball when it smashed down in Ahmedabad moments after takeoff. Initial checks on Air India's Dreamliners since the crash "did not reveal any major safety concerns", the country's civil aviation regulator said on Tuesday. India's aviation investigative unit said on Thursday the probe was "progressing steadily". "Key recovery work, including site documentation and evidence collection, has been completed, and further analysis is now underway," the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said in a statement. - 'Highly experienced pilot' - Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese and a Canadian on board the flight, as well as 12 crew members. The pilots were accomplished flyers, according to the airline. "The flight was led by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a highly experienced pilot and trainer with over 10,000 hours flying widebody aircraft," it said. "First Officer Clive Kunder had over 3,400 hours of flying experience." While investigators try to piece together what went wrong, many families of victims are still waiting for their loved ones to be identified. As of Thursday evening, 215 victims have been matched through DNA testing, all but nine of them passengers, according to the civil hospital's medical superintendent Rakesh Joshi. The remains of around 15 of them have been transported by air, Joshi told journalists. Six people injured in the disaster remain in hospital, with one due to be discharged shortly while the others are in a stable condition.
