An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Flight AI171, bound for London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport today. The aircraft, with 242 people on board – 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew – went down in the Meghaninagar area, just outside the airport perimeter, around 01:40 IST.
Air India confirmed the incident, stating that Flight AI171 operating the Ahmedabad-London Gatwick route was involved in an “incident” on Thursday.
The AI flight consisted of 230 passengers, comprising 217 adults, 11 children, and 2 infants. Among the diverse group on board were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals, and 1 Canadian national.
How can Black Box help with the Air India crash investigation?
The Black Box can help investigators to identify the cause of a crash, whether it is from mechanical failure, engine malfunction, bird strike, onboard fire or human error. The recordings from the Black Box would unveil the important details about the MAYDAY call, any automated warnings received, and any recovery attempted after takeoff in those critical moments.
The Flight Data Recorder (Black box) will give data about the engine performance, control surface positions, and system warnings. The voice recorder in the cockpit can provide crucial information to the investigators, such as crew coordination efforts or any discussion on mechanical problems.
After finding the device, it will be sent to forensic laboratories under the DGCA or the Aircraft Accident Bureau. The forensic experts can then further extract and decode memory modules, synchronise voice and flight data, and match with the air traffic records.
What is a Black Box?
The Black Box plays an important part in post-crash investigation as it becomes the only component of the aircraft with no damage and has important recordings and data. A Black Box is a flight recorder that provides crucial information to the investigators. It reconstructs every second of the event leading to a flight crash, which offers unbiased information on what transpired in the cockpit and across aircraft systems.
The Black Box Data has helped investigators to know the cause of some of the major plane crashes globally, from the 2015 Germanwings crash to the Malaysia Airlines incidents. In India 2020 Kozhikode crash investigation was heavily dependent on these recordings, which helped to know the pilot’s decision and runway conditions during the failed landing attempt.
The device often gives reliable information when there are no survivors or any other physical evidence to investigate the crash. It just does not only gives the immediate cause of the crash landing but also helps the aviation industry to improve safety standards.