Crashed Air India aircraft's black box to be sent to US for data recovery as India lacks 'proper equipment'

The recovery efforts in India have proved to be unsuccessful.

The Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) will be examined at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) laboratory in Washington DC.

The specialists in this case will have to extract the memory boards manually for which expertise is not available in India.

"While AAIB had established a laboratory at its headquarters in Delhi last year, it is yet to be properly equipped to extract data from recorders which have sustained heavy damage," an official involved in the process of data recovery told Economic Times.

What is a black box?

A black box refers to two critical flight recording devices on an aircraft- Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder.

While the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) records technical flight data (speed, altitude, engine performance, etc.),  Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) records conversations and sounds in the cockpit.

It is used to investigate accidents and understand what happened before a crash.

Despite the name, it is actually bright orange to make it easier to find in wreckage.

Ahmedabad plane crash

On June 12, a London-bound Air India Boeing Dreamliner flight crashed soon after takeoff near the Ahmedabad airport killing 279 people including on-ground people.

241 out of 242 onboard passengers and crew members were killed in the crash, which is one of the country's worst aviation tragedies.

One person, the passenger of seat No. 11A,  survived the crash miraculously.

Need to do extended surveillance into Boeing 787 Series, says Civil Aviation Minister

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has acknowledged the need for an "extended surveillance into Boeing 787 Series" aircraft.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Naidu said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has already given its order for "extended surveillance for the 787 planes".

"We have very strict safety standards in the country...When the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance into the Boeing 787 Series. DGCA has also given an order to do the extended surveillance for the 787 planes.

"There are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today. I believe that 8 have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done...," the minister said.