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AI crash probe: Black box examined in India, says Naidu
Civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday said black box of crashed AI plane was examined by the AAIB
Pune: Civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday said the black box of the Air India plane which crashed in Ahmedabad earlier this month was being examined by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), and dismissed speculation that it would be sent abroad for an inquiry.
Naidu was speaking in Pune on the sidelines of the Helicopters & Small Aircraft Summit 2025, organised by FICCI jointly with the ministry of civil Aviation.
“There is no need to send the black box to the US or any other country. Our agencies have the technical capability to decode and analyse the data. The investigation is underway, and we will share a detailed report once it is complete,” Naidu said, dismissing earlier reports that the data might be sent to the US for decoding with the help of agencies like the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
“Decoding the black box is going to give an in-depth insight into what happened moments before the plane crash,” Naidu had earlier said.
The London-bound Air India flight crashed into a hostel complex in Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport there on June 12 afternoon, killing 270 people, including 241 on board. One passenger survived.
The black box of Air India’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane was recovered from the site on June 13. A black box is a small device that records information about an aircraft during its flight. It helps in the investigation of aviation accidents.
Asked about some media reports suggesting the black box would be sent abroad for a probe into the incident, Naidu said, “...it is all speculation. The black box is very much in India and it currently being investigated by the AAIB.” To a query on when is the black box data expected to be retrieved, the minister said it is a very technical matter. “Let the AAIB conduct the probe and go through the entire process,” he added.
The wreckage will be in custody of the AAIB, police officials said.
(With agency inputs)
