Investigators have finally decoded the “black box” of the Air India crash – the key to finding out what went wrong in the plane crash.
New Delhi/Washington, June 27 – Two weeks after Air India flight AI-117 from Ahmedabad to London crashed seconds after takeoff, safety teams have finally decoded its in-flight black box recorder, a major step towards understanding the mystery of the deadliest plane crash in the last ten years.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flying to London, crashed into a nearby field just seconds after takeoff on June 12. Two hundred and sixty people were confirmed dead, 241 of the 242 passengers and crew on board and several on the ground where the crash occurred. Only one passenger on board the plane survived.
What investigators did this week?
Downloaded data from both recorders. Engineers from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accessed the cockpit-voice recorder (CVR) and flight-data recorder (FDR) on Thursday and analyzed the data.
The NTSB says there has been “excellent” cooperation with Indian authorities and expects to have all the data decoded and the first public findings soon.
Engine thrust and power loss have also been the focus. Initial attention is being paid to whether both of the jet’s engines failed to provide sufficient thrust. Sources have also said that the plane’s emergency-power generator was running when it hit the ground, indicating that the main power supply may have failed.
Why the delay in decoding the black boxes?
Normally, black-box data is downloaded within a few days, and experts said a two-week wait was too long. India had debated sending the black boxes to the United States, but later decided to download the search data at the AAIB’s Delhi laboratory itself.
What happens next?
Investigators are now trying to find out what exactly happened to the jet just before the accident. For this, they will see what conversation took place between the pilots, how the engine performed.
Often there can be not one but many reasons behind such accidents. Therefore, the team is engaged in a thorough investigation of every aspect. The maintenance report of the plane and the training of the pilots and the state of the technical system are also being investigated.
An initial report is expected in about 30 days, but the full investigation may take a few months.
GE, which makes both the 787’s engines and the combined data-and-voice recorder, has also sent technicians to India to assist, further strengthening the investigation.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said, “For the sake of public safety, we hope India can share its findings as quickly as possible.” She expressed her condolences to the victims’ families.
