Ahmedabad Plane Crash: How the Black Box Could Reveal the Truth Behind the Air India Tragedy

Air India Flight AI-171, en route to London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Wednesday. The aircraft, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, went down in the Meghaninagar area around 1:17 PM, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky. Onboard were 242 individuals, including 2 pilots and 10 cabin crew. As rescue and recovery operations continue, the focus of the investigation has shifted to a single crucial element: the aircraft’s black box.

What Is a Black Box?

In aviation, a “black box” is a flight recorder that plays a vital role in accident investigations. Technically comprising two separate devices—the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)—this unit records second-by-second data on aircraft systems, pilot conversations, engine performance, altitude, speed, and more. Despite the name, the black box is typically bright orange to aid in recovery efforts.

Why Is It Important?

Recovery of the black box can provide a definitive timeline of events in the moments leading up to the crash. It can reveal:
Pilot communication and cockpit decisions

Mechanical or technical anomalies

External influences, such as weather or bird strikes

Alarms or system failures

In many cases, especially when there are few or no survivors, the black box becomes the only reliable source for reconstructing the crash.

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Historical Significance of Black Boxes

Black boxes have been pivotal in unraveling major aviation disasters:

Germanwings Flight 9525 (2015): The CVR revealed the co-pilot intentionally crashed the plane into the French Alps.

Malaysia Airlines MH370 & MH17: While MH370’s black box has never been recovered, MH17’s data was essential in concluding a missile strike as the cause.

Kozhikode Air India Express Crash (2020): Black box data helped confirm that tailwind and runway conditions were contributing factors in the fatal landing.

However, not all investigations result in clear conclusions, even with black box data. In rare instances, damage to the device or data corruption limits its utility.