'Black Box Recovered from Rooftop in Air India Crash Site' Says AAIB

The AAIB has launched a full-scale investigation into the crash with over 40 staff from the Gujarat State govt.

Image: INAS

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Friday clarified that the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR), commonly referred to as the black box, recovered from the rooftop of a building at the site of the Air India Flight AI-171 crash in Ahmedabad.

"Clarity on confusion: DFDR (Digital Flight Data Recorder) itself is the black box," said AAIB.

The AAIB has launched a full-scale investigation following the Air India flight crash on Thursday, with over 40 staff from the Gujarat State Government joining efforts to support the Ministry of Civil Aviation teams on the ground. 

"Contrary to some reports, the video recorder being circulated is not the DFDR (Digital Flight Data Recorder). The black box was found on the rooftop. AAIB began work with full force immediately. Over 40 staff from the State Government joined efforts to augment MoCA teams on site. The DFDR has been recovered from the rooftop," said the statement of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Air India flight AI171 crashed minutes after take-off from Ahmedabad airport which claimed the lives of 265 people. On the flight, a total of 230 passengers, including 169 Indians and 53 British nationals boarded.

In the tragic incident, only one passenger in seat 11A survived, identified as Ramesh Biswas Kumar. He was sitting close to the emergency exit, and jumped from the aircraft before it went down.

"It happened in front of my eyes. Even I couldn't believe how I survived. For a moment, I was confident that I was going to die. But when I opened my eyes, I realised that I was alive, then I tried to unplug my seat belt and exit from the broken emergency door. While I managed to exit, uncle-aunty sitting near me and an air hostess lost their lives in front of my eyes," said Ramesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited the crash site and met injured survivors at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital.