Air India Plane Crash: Black Box to be Sent to US for Data Recovery

India will send the badly damaged black box from the Air India Boeing 787 crash to the United States. This is for a detailed analysis. The plane crash caused too much fire damage. So, data extraction in India is not possible.

Understanding the Black Box and Its Role

The black box includes the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder (CVR). It is painted bright orange for visibility. These devices are usually near the aircraft’s tail. This is where crash impact is often the least. But, they can still get badly damaged from the crash or fires.

Important Facts About the Black Box

• The flight data recorder captures key technical details. This includes timing, altitude, and airspeed.
• The CVR stores audio data from the cockpit. This includes pilot conversations and background sounds like electronic warnings.
• The black box is crucial for crash investigations.

How Data Recovery Works

The Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) will be checked at the National Safety Transport Board (NTSB) lab in Washington. The results will be shared with India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). International rules say the country where the incident happened leads the investigation.

Getting data from these devices can take from two days to several months. This depends on how badly the units are damaged. Due to the damage, the memory board must be removed to extract the chip. This prevents further data loss. The electronic circuit also needs to be checked.

Details of the Investigation

The Boeing 787, like other modern planes, has many backup systems. It also has duplicate critical parts. These ensure safety and reliability. The plane can fly for 345 minutes with just one engine. It can do this even with various system failures.

The team is looking into several scenarios:

• Whether wing flaps were deployed correctly.
• The reason for landing gear deployment.
• Possible electronic failures or fuel contamination that could cause engine problems.

The pilot’s last communication was a single Mayday call. According to Samir Kumar Sinha, secretary of the civil aviation ministry, there was no further response to air traffic control.

Experts from the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch will join the analysis. This is because 53 British nationals were among the casualties.