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Just two months after inaugurating a state-of-the-art laboratory for analysing aircraft black boxes, the Indian government has decided to send the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from the recent Air India crash to the United States for decoding. The move highlights limitations in India’s newly launched facility, which was expected to handle such critical investigations.
The black box, retrieved from the crashed Air India Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, has been sent to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau’s (AAIB) Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder (DFDR & CVR) Laboratory in New Delhi.
Lab inaugurated in April for advanced analysis
In April, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated the DFDR & CVR Laboratory at the AAIB headquarters in New Delhi. Built with an investment of Rs 9 crore and technical support from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the facility was designed to recover flight data and conduct detailed crash investigations.
It aimed to meet international standards and enable India to independently analyse black boxes without sending them abroad. The lab is expected to reduce dependency on foreign agencies and improve the speed of investigations.
Extent of damage may force reliance on US agency
The new lab is in the process of decoding the data from black boxes.. Officials said, “AAIB experts attempted to retrieve the data but found that the extent of damage to the recorders necessitates more sophisticated equipment.”
The recorders may be sent to the US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for data recovery. A team from the NTSB will handle the transport under Indian supervision to ensure proper chain of custody, if a decision is taken to send them to US. The United Kingdom’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch will also be involved in the investigation, as 53 British citizens were among the passengers killed.
Black box recovery process
Experts handling the recovery process will attempt to extract the memory board chip and inspect the damaged circuitry. This is a delicate operation, and any mistake could result in permanent data loss.
Importance of black boxes in crash investigations
Black boxes, which include the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), are essential tools for accident investigation. The FDR logs flight details such as altitude, speed, and engine data, while the CVR captures cockpit audio and conversations.
In commercial aircraft like the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, these devices are located in the tail section to increase chances of survival during crashes. They are built to withstand high-impact crashes and extreme heat.
India’s fast-growing aviation sector relies heavily on timely and thorough investigations to improve safety standards. The inability of the newly opened AAIB lab to handle this case has raised questions about its readiness to deal with complex crash scenarios
