The Civil Aviation Ministry has recovered and downloaded data from the black box of Air India Flight 171, which crashed on June 12, resulting in the deaths of 275 people. The black box, which includes the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR), was brought from Ahmedabad to Delhi on June 24 and analysed at the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) lab. Officials confirmed that the memory module was successfully accessed and the data downloaded. The Crash Protection Module (CPM), part of the front section of the black box, was also retrieved and opened on June 25 for further analysis.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the black box remains in India and is being examined by the AAIB. This follows earlier reports that the device might be sent to the United States for recovery due to the damage it sustained in the fire after the crash. Temperatures at the crash site reportedly reached 1,000°C, damaging the outer casing of the recorder, though its internal data remained recoverable.

The CVR and FDR, commonly referred to as the black box, are essential for understanding the sequence of events leading to the crash. The CVR records sounds in the cockpit, including pilot conversations, while the FDR stores technical flight data such as speed, altitude, and engine performance.

The AAIB had recovered the CVR and FDR two days after the crash and had been given three months to complete its investigation. The downloaded data will help reconstruct the timeline and possible causes of the incident.
Aviation expert Captain Steve Scheibner suggested that the early deployment of the ram air turbine (RAT) could indicate a dual engine failure. The exact cause of the crash will only be confirmed after a detailed analysis of the black box data. The investigation aims to identify the factors behind the crash and improve safety for future flights.