Indian authorities confirmed Sunday that both black boxes from Air India Flight 171 – the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) – have been recovered, marking a critical breakthrough in determining the cause of last week's fatal crash that claimed 274 lives.
Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, P.K. Mishra, announced the recovery as international investigators arrived in Ahmedabad to assist India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau. The Hindustan Times reported the CVR was located Monday morning, following the June 13 recovery of the FDR.
Federal Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu stated the crash investigation report will be finalized within three months. Technical teams now face a race against time, with The Hindu reporting the data extraction and analysis process could take 4-5 days.
Aviation experts emphasize the black boxes' importance in reconstructing the flight's final moments. The FDR captures technical parameters like altitude and speed, while the CVR preserves cockpit conversations – together forming an essential narrative for safety improvements.
This development comes as global attention focuses on aviation safety standards in Asia's third-largest aviation market, where passenger traffic is projected to double by 2030 according to industry estimates.
