Decoding the Air India Crash: The Black Box’s Vital Role in Unraveling the Tragedy

The devastating crash of Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025, has left India in mourning, with 241 of 242 passengers and crew killed. The London-bound flight plummeted just 1.5 km from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, issuing a desperate “MAYDAY” call before erupting into a fireball in Meghani Nagar.

As investigators sift through the wreckage, the aircraft’s black box—despite its name, a bright orange duo of devices—holds the key to unraveling this tragedy. Comprising the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), these rugged units are built to survive extreme conditions and provide critical clues to ensure safer skies.

Why is the black box orange in colour?

Far from black, the black box is painted orange for visibility in debris. Housed in the aircraft’s tail, the FDR and CVR are designed to withstand 1,100°C fires for an hour, 3,400 G impacts, and 20,000 feet underwater for 30 days, protected by stainless steel or titanium casings. The FDR, weighing 4.5-5.5 kg (10-12 pounds) and measuring 25-30 cm long, 15-20 cm wide, and 10-15 cm tall, records 25 hours of flight data, tracking at least 88 parameters like altitude, airspeed, and direction, though modern aircraft like the 787 monitor up to 1,000 features, including flap positions and smoke detector alerts, per the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

The CVR, slightly lighter at 4-5 kg (9-11 pounds) with similar dimensions, captures 2 hours of audio, including radio communications, pilot and crew conversations, and sounds like engine noises or stall alarms, enabling experts to analyze critical audio cues. Together, these shoebox-sized units, totaling 8-10 kg (18-22 pounds), act as indestructible safes preserving vital evidence.

For Flight AI-171, which climbed only 625 feet before descending at 475 feet per minute, the black box could reveal whether engine failure, a bird strike, or human error triggered the disaster.

Reports suggest one black box has been recovered, though conflicting claims persist. Recovery involves sonar to detect the underwater locator beacon’s pings, followed by careful drying and data extraction in labs like India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). This process, potentially involving UK and US experts due to the 53 British victims and Boeing’s American origin, may take weeks.

The first fatal crash of a Boeing 787, this incident has raised calls to ground Air India’s 34 Dreamliners for safety checks. The aircraft, aged 11.5 years and recently flown to Paris and Tokyo, may have faced maintenance issues or design flaws, which the black box will clarify. Past investigations, like the 2020 Kozhikode crash, show how black box data drives safety improvements. As we grieve, these resilient devices carry the truth, guiding us toward accountability and safer aviation.