The data from the black box of the Air India flight that crashed and killed 271 people has been downloaded and is being analysed, the government said.

The black boxes, which included the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), were damaged in the crash, raising concerns about whether the data could be recovered. Initially, reports indicated that the government might send the devices outside India for forensic data extraction.

However, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has now successfully retrieved and extracted data from the Crash Protection Module (CPM) and the memory unit. The analysis of CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) and FDR (Flight Data Recorder) data is underway.

The latest status update from the Ministry of Civil Aviation revealed that “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 investigation team, as per international protocol, is led by DG AAIB, and includes an aviation medicine specialist, an ATC officer, and representatives from National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which is government investigative agency from the state of manufacture and design, (USA), as required for such investigations,” the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

The Air India AI171 flight that crashed seconds after take off was bound for London. Taking over 240 lives, this has been one of the most deadly incidents in civil aviation history for India. Following this incident, there were several disruptions observed in domestic and international flights in the Indian airspace.

Increased caution led to multiple flight cancellations and diversions. Amidst these rising concerns for safer air-travel for passengers, the DGCA presented an updated guidelines for flights increasing the safety checks necessary to take flight.