AAIB says decision still under review
India is likely to send the black box recovered from the ill-fated Air India flight AI 171 to the United States for data recovery, following reports that the flight data recorder (FDR) suffered heavy damage in the crash near Ahmedabad last week that killed 270 people.
According to a report by The Economic Times, the damaged black box may be flown to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) laboratory in Washington for analysis, as India currently lacks the capability to retrieve data from severely burnt or damaged recorders.
However, the Director General of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), GVG Yugandhar, has refuted the report, telling Reuters that it is “factually incorrect,” without providing further clarification.
Government sources later stated that no final decision has been taken yet. “The decision regarding the location for decoding the black box will be made after due assessment of all technical, safety and security considerations,” the government said on Thursday.
The AAIB, which is probing the crash, is expected to oversee the decoding process and prepare a final accident report.
The time taken to extract and analyse black box data, if recoverable, could range from a few days to several months depending on the extent of the damage, the report added.
Flight AI 171, operating a domestic leg, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport last week, bursting into flames and killing all 270 on board. Investigators believe the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder will be crucial to understanding the cause of the crash.
(With inputs from India Today)