Indian investigators download black box data from fatal Air India crash
NEW DELHI : Investigators have downloaded flight recorder data from an Air India crash this month that killed 260 people, India's civil aviation ministry said on Thursday, a long-awaited step towards understanding the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade.
The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed moments after takeoff from India's Ahmedabad city on June 12, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and the rest on the ground.
The black boxes of the plane – the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) – were recovered in the days that followed, one from the rooftop of a building at the crash site on June 13, and the other from the debris on June 16.
The ministry said data from the front recorder was accessed on Wednesday by a team led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
'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 ministry said in a statement.
NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy told Reuters on Thursday she hopes the Indian government will be able to share details from the investigation into the crash in short order.
'For aviation safety and for public safety and public awareness we hope that they will make their findings public swiftly,' Homendy said on the sidelines of an aviation event.
She said the NTSB team has been working diligently to provide assistance to India and 'we have had excellent cooperation from the Indian government and the AAIB.'
The probe into the crash of the Air India plane, which started losing height after reaching an altitude of 650 feet, includes a focus on engine thrust, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that investigators believe the Dreamliner had its emergency-power generator operating when it crashed.
Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a preliminary report expected about 30 days after the accident.
Two GE recorders, one in the jet's front and another at the rear, are installed on Boeing's 787 jets and record the same set of flight data. GE, which sent experts to India, manufactured the engines on the Air India 787 and also produced the combined flight data and cockpit voice recorder, called an 'enhanced airborne flight recorder'.
The forward recorder is equipped with an independent power supply that provides backup power to the device for about 10 minutes if the plane's power source is lost, the NTSB said in a 2014 report.
The decision to begin downloading recorder data around two weeks after the crash was unusually late, three experts told Reuters, and followed speculation that the so-called black boxes could be sent to the US for analysis.
US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said accident investigators would typically have already given some update on the recorders' status, and have begun downloading data in such a high profile crash.
'Normally countries know that the world is watching,' he said.
India said last week that it was yet to decide where the black boxes would be analysed. The data retrieved from them could provide critical clues into the aircraft's performance and any conversations between the pilots preceding the crash.
India has said its actions have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time bound manner.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Helicopter crash kills 2, closes part of Mississippi River
CHICAGO: Two people died on Thursday after a helicopter they were on board crashed into a barge on the Mississippi River, shutting the waterway to traffic near Alton, Illinois, the U.S. Coast Guard said. Preliminary information indicated the MD 369 helicopter hit power lines before the crash, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The Federal Aviation Administration said there were two people on board when the helicopter crashed and the NTSB would lead the investigation. An NTSB investigator was expected to arrive on site on Friday, the agency said. Power company Ameren Corp said a contractor and subcontractor were repairing and replacing tower lighting and marker balls on transmission lines. 'We are saddened about today's tragic incident,' Ameren said, adding that it would cooperate with investigators. No one was on board the barge, which caught fire after the crash, Coast Guard spokesperson Jonathan Lindberg said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, he said. The river, a major shipping waterway for crops and other goods, shut from mile marker 199 to mile marker 201, Lindberg said. There was no estimate for when the river would reopen, he said. Alton is downriver from the Mississippi's confluence with the Illinois River, and the closure could delay barges carrying grain to the U.S. Gulf from Midwestern farms. - Reuters
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Malay Mail
Malaysian Flying Academy aircraft on training flight skids off Melaka Airport runway, pilot injured
MELAKA, Aug 7 — The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) confirmed an incident involving a Piper PA-28-181 aircraft, with the registration number 9M-SKR that was on a training flight at Melaka Airport today. The CAAM said the aircraft, operated by Malaysian Flying Academy Sdn Bhd (MFA), had landed and skidded off the runway upon touchdown at 2.55pm today. 'There was one pilot on board and (he) is currently receiving medical treatment. The aircraft removal and a full runway inspection have been carried out to ensure safe operations of the airport. 'The safety investigation will be conducted by the Air Accident Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Transport Malaysia (MOT) in accordance with Part XXVI of the Civil Aviation Regulations 2016,' the CAAM said in a statement today. Meanwhile, Ayer Keroh Fire and Rescue Station operations commander, Senior Fire Officer II Mohd Saad Md Kassim said that the department received a call regarding the incident at 3.15pm and arrived at the location seven minutes later. 'Upon arriving, the group of seven firefighters were informed that the aircraft was sent to the workshop and we returned to the station after ensuring there was no danger at the runway,' he said. — Bernama
Malay Mail
28-07-2025
- Malay Mail
Jeju Air crash: Pilots shut down working engine after bird strike, probe reveals
SEOUL, July 27 — A Jeju Air plane that crashed in December during an emergency landing after a bird strike could have kept flying on the damaged engine that was still working after pilots shut down the other one, according to an update from South Korean investigators. The Boeing 737-800 instead belly-landed at Muan airport without its landing gear down, overshot the runway and erupted into a fireball after slamming into an embankment, killing all but two of the 181 people on board. Investigators have not yet produced a final report into the deadliest air disaster on South Korean soil, but information about the plane's two engines has begun to emerge. According to a July 19 update prepared by investigators and seen by Reuters but not publicly released following complaints from victims' family members, the left engine sustained less damage than the right following a bird strike, but the left engine was shut down 19 seconds after the bird strike. The right engine experienced a 'surge' and emitted flames and black smoke, but investigators said it 'was confirmed to be generating output sufficient for flight,' in the five-page update, which included post-crash photos of both engines. No reason for the crew's actions was given and the probe is expected to last months as investigators reconstruct the plane's technical state and the picture understood by its pilots. Experts say most air accidents are caused by multiple factors and caution against putting too much weight on incomplete evidence. More questions So far, public attention has focused on the possibility that the crew may have shut down the less-damaged engine, rekindling memories of a 1989 Boeing 737-400 crash in Kegworth, England, where pilots shut down a non-damaged engine by mistake. The disaster led to multiple changes in regulations including improvements in crew communication and emergency procedures. A source told Reuters on Monday that the South Korea-led probe had 'clear evidence' that pilots had shut off the less-damaged left engine after the bird strike, citing the cockpit voice recorder, computer data and a switch found in the wreckage. But the latest update on the crash also raises the possibility that even the more heavily damaged engine that was still running could have kept the plane aloft for longer. It did not say what level of performance the operating engine still had, nor what extra options that might have given to the plane's emergency-focused crew before the jet doubled back and landed in the opposite direction of the runway from its initial plan with its landing gear up. Both engines contained bird strike damage and both experienced engine vibrations after the strike. The right engine showed significant internal damage, the Korean-language update from South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) said, but it did not describe the damage found in the left engine. The update did not say how the left engine was operating nor the state of systems connected to either engine, said former US National Transportation Safety Board investigator Greg Feith when shown the document translated by Reuters. It contains some new facts but omits far more, resulting in a 'cryptic' document, he said. ARAIB, which plans to issue a final report next June, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Safety experts say it is common for early reports to contain sparse facts and limited analysis while investigations continue. A preliminary report released in January said feathers and blood stains from ducks were found in both engines. The engines — made by CFM International, jointly owned by and France's Safran — were examined in May and no defects or fault data were found beyond the bird and crash damage, the report said. Families of those who died in the disaster were briefed on the engine findings but asked investigators not to release the July 19 report, saying that it appeared to apportion blame to the pilots without exploring other factors. The report was withheld but Reuters and South Korean media obtained copies. Boeing and GE referred questions about the crash to ARAIB. Safran did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Jeju Air has previously said it is cooperating with ARAIB and is awaiting publication of the investigation. Under global aviation rules, civil air investigations aim to discover crash causes without assigning blame or liability. The Jeju Air pilots' union said ARAIB was 'misleading the public' by suggesting there was no problem with the left engine given that bird remains were found in both. A source who attended the briefing told Reuters that investigators told family members the left engine also experienced a disruptive 'surge,' citing black box data. The pilot union and representatives of bereaved families have asked that evidence be released to support any findings. Relatives say the investigation also needs to focus on the embankment containing navigation equipment, which safety experts have said likely contributed to the high death toll. Global aviation standards call for any navigation equipment in line with runways to be installed on structures that easily give way in case of impact with an aircraft. South Korea's transport ministry has identified seven domestic airports, including Muan, with structures made of concrete or steel, rather than materials that break apart on impact and has said it will improve them. Designs for the new structures are in progress, a ministry official told Reuters last week. — Reuters
