Days after reports claimed that the black box retrieved from the Ahmedabad Air India flight crash is being sent to US for inspection, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday dismissed the claims and said the black box is being examined in India. Speaking at the Helicopters and Small Aircraft Summit 2025 in Delhi, Naidu said, “It is all speculation. The black box is very much in India and is being investigated by the AAIB.”
The black box was recovered from the crash site a day after the crash, on June 13. Black boxes, which include flight data and cockpit voice recorders, are crucial in piecing together events leading up to aviation disasters.
The London-bound Air India Flight AI171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed into a hostel complex in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, killing 270 people, including 241 passengers and crew. One passenger survived the crash.
When asked about the timeline for retrieving data from the device, Naidu said, “It is a very technical matter. Let the AAIB conduct the probe and go through the entire process.” Following the crash, a high-level panel was formed to investigate the crash. The government said the investigation is progressing smoothly.
Naidu had earlier emphasised the importance of the black box in uncovering the cause of the crash, stating, “Decoding the black box is going to give an in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash.”