Ahmedabad: Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday addressed the media briefing for the first time following the fatal crash of Air India Flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad. He confirmed that the aircraft’s black box has been located and is currently being decoded as investigators work to uncover what caused the deadly incident.
The crash, which occurred on June 12 and claimed the lives of 241 out of 242 people on board, is being treated with the highest urgency, Naidu assured. He stated that the black box, a vital component in aviation crash investigations, was found at around 5 PM on Friday.
“The Ministry is taking the utmost seriousness to the incident. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) was immediately mobilised. The DG AAIB immediately rushed to the site to take stock of the situation. One update from the technical investigation team which is happening through AAIB is the recovery of the black box from the accident site at around 5 pm yesterday,” he said.
Naidu emphasized that the data from the black box is expected to provide critical insight into what led to the crash. “The AAIB team believes that this decoding of the black box is going to give a, in depth insight into what would have actually happened during the process of the crash or moments before the crash itself. We are also eagerly waiting for what the results or the report is going to be once the AAIB goes through its full investigation,” he added.
The minister also announced the formation of a high-level committee to carry out an in-depth inquiry into the incident. The committee will engage with stakeholders and experts to determine the factors that led to the crash and suggest corrective measures. “We have put a time limit of three months for them (high-level panel) to sit down, talk to various stakeholders and involve and discuss with any other important expert that is necessary as per their investigation,” Naidu said.
Further details about the incident were shared by Samir Kumar Sinha, Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. “On 12th June, around 2 PM, we received the information that the plane going from Ahmedabad to Gatwick, London, had crashed. We immediately got detailed information about this through ATC Ahmedabad,” he said.
According to Sinha, Air India Flight AI-171, a Boeing Dreamliner 787-8, took off at 1:39 PM with 242 people on board, including 230 passengers, two pilots, and ten crew members. “This plane took off at 1:39 pm and within a few seconds, after reaching a height of about 650 feet, it started sinking, i.e., it started losing height. At 1:39 pm, the pilot informed Ahmedabad ATC that it was a May Day, i.e., a full emergency,” he explained.
Communication with the aircraft was lost almost immediately. “According to ATC, when it tried to contact the plane, it did not receive any response. Exactly after 1 minute, this plane crashed in Medhaninagar, which is located at a distance of about 2 km from the airport,” Sinha said.
Following the crash, the Civil Aviation Ministry issued an order establishing a high-level multidisciplinary committee to thoroughly investigate the circumstances behind the disaster. “The Committee will examine the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines issued to prevent and handle such occurrences and suggest comprehensive guidelines for dealing with such instances in the future,” the ministry stated.
The Air India flight was en route to London’s Gatwick Airport when it crashed just minutes after takeoff. Of the 242 individuals onboard, only one person survived.