Prime Highlights
- Crashed Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s black box would be transported to the US for forensic recovery of information.
- India turns to NTSB due to serious fire damage to onboard recorders.
Key Facts
- Flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were severely damaged during the post-crash fire.
- India’s AAIB would collaborate with US and UK authorities in the inquiry.
Key Background
In response to the recent crash of the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Ahmedabad, India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has concluded that the black box of the plane, where the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) are kept, will be sent to the United States for advanced recovery of data. The decision was taken after conducting local laboratory tests in which they were not able to recover data from equipment that had suffered such serious fire and impact damage.
This procedure step is in line with international aviation safety standards, in which the state in which the accident took place (India) may request the state where it was made (USA). The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) with its state-of-the-art facilities to recover data will carry out the investigation. The black boxes will be escorted by an Indian AAIB/AAIB-UK combined delegation for safe handling and custody maintenance of the chain.
Officials say the time to return the data is expected to be a matter of weeks to days depending on the condition of internal memory chips. The airplanes are crucial to define the sequence of events that caused the accident. The FDR is tasked with recording significant operational parameters like airspeed, altitude, engine power, and control inputs, whereas the CVR captures audio in the cockpit, crew voice contacts, and warning advisories.
The fatal Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash raised a number of challenging questions regarding safety. Initial tests point to a number of possibilities from mechanical failure of the engines, landing gear, or avionics system. The investigators also examine the contribution of external factors and emergency system response.
The AAIB would release the initial report within a month’s time. The full findings would be based on information received from the US lab. It’s a turning point for Indian aviation since it’s one of the worst Dreamliner flights that were carried out by Air India.
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