Investigators have successfully recovered data from the black boxes of Air India Flight 171.
India’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau confirmed it had begun to analyse information from the plane’s flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
The next stage of the investigation will involve piecing together the deadly sequence of events which led to the tragedy that killed 260 people, including all but one of the 242 passengers on board.
Both black boxes were transported from the crash site in Ahmedabad to the AAIB’s lab in Delhi on June 24. Their data was extracted a day later.
While one of the recorders was found within the wreckage, the other was recovered from the roof of a building the aircraft smashed into.
Analysis of the raw data could take some time. The UN recommends countries publish a preliminary report within 30 days of the incident.
It’s guidance states that the final report should be made available in the ‘shortest possible time’, ideally within a year.
In a statement, India’s ministry of civil aviation said: ‘On the evening of 24 June 2025, the team led by DG AAIB with technical members from AAIB and NTSB began the data extraction process.
‘The Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved, and on 25 June, 2025, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB Lab.
‘The analysis of CVR and FDR data is underway. 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.
‘All actions have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time bound manner.’
It comes days after Air India was forced to apologise after leaked footage showed the bosses of one of its joint ventures partying just days after the air disaster.
Viral footage showed executives of Air India SATS (AISATS), the airline’s cargo and ground handling arm, dancing to blaring music.
The clip was believed to have been filmed at the company’s offices in Gurugam, near Delhi on June 20.
AISATS said in a statement: ‘AISATS is aware of a video being circulated on social media that unfortunately is completely out of context.
‘Notwithstanding, we sincerely regret any emotional discomfort this may have caused.’
This was just over a week after the Boeing 787-8 crashed on take off during the flight bound for London Gatwick on June 12.
It was the first fatal incident involving a Dreamliner aircraft, although the model has suffered from several operational failures which have caused injuries.
The tragedy was also Air India’s first fatal hull loss since the bombing of Flight 185 over the Atlantic ocean in 1985.
On the flight deck was Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, who had 8,200 flight hours alongside co-pilot Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience. There were also 10 crew on board.
Authorities confirmed earlier this week they had identified and handed over 256 of the victims’ bodies.
Just one British man, Vishwash Kuman Ramesh, who was sat in seat 11A. survived the crash.
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