A day after Ahmedabad air crash, the Government on Friday ordered thorough inspection of all Boeing aircrafts. In another development, one of the two black boxes, the Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR), was found from the rooftop of a building near the crash site, which could answer questions about how the plane plummeted to Earth.
It will help the investigators to ascertain the cause of mishap. The search is still underway for the second black box, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), with no confirmation on its status yet. Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrashekhar said investigative teams from India, the US and the UK have arrived at the crash site in the last 24 hours.
“Trained investigators will help us understand why the routine flight turned into calamity,” he said. Meanwhile, a team of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other central intelligence agencies arrived the site of the crash. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation tasked with probing aircraft accidents in India, has also launched the probe.
In a letter to Air India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday ordered enhanced safety inspection of Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet and listed out the checks the airliner will have to carry out on all of its Boeing 787-8/9 fleet, starting June 15, 2025.
“As a preventive measure DGCA hereby directs M/s Air India to carryout following additional maintenance actions on 8787-8/9 aircrafts equipped with Genx engines with immediate effect in coordination with the concerned regional DGCA offices,” the DGCA said. In its order, the DGCA has ordered for a one time check before departure of flight from India wef 15-6-2025, (00:00) hrs onwards. In its order, the airline regulator has mandated a check before departure of flight, effective from 00:00 hours on June 15, 2025. There are 26 Boeing 787-8s and 7 Boeing 787-9s in the fleet of Air India owned by Tata Group. This particular Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was built 12 years ago.
The DGCA has ordered various one-time checks of the Boeing 787 planes, including inspection of fuel parameter monitoring and associated system checks. Inspection of cabin air compressor and associated systems, electronic engine control system test, engine fuel driven actuator-operational test and oil system checks have also been ordered. Besides, DGCA has directed to carry out a serviceability check of the hydraulic system and review of take-off parametres.
According to an order, flight control inspection has to be introduced in transit inspection till further notice, apart from having power assurance checks within two weeks. Additionally, DGCA has said there should be “closure of maintenance actions based upon the review of repetitive snags during the last 15 days on B787-8/9 aircraft at the earliest”. Reports of these checks have to be submitted to the regulator for review.
The London Gatwick-bound Boeing 787 aircraft that crashed on Thursday was powered by GEnx engines. GEnx engines are made by GE Aerospace. The GE Aerospace said it is prepared to support Air India and the investigation into the plane crash in Ahmedabad. “We have activated our emergency response team, and we are prepared to support our customer and the investigation,” a GE Aerospace spokesperson had said in a statement.
Boeing has been mired in a series of controversies over the past several years. These issues span safety concerns, corporate governance, regulatory scrutiny and production quality problems. The most significant catalyst was the two fatal crashes involving the 737 MAX aircraft, but the implications have extended well beyond that. Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in 2019 crashed within minutes of takeoff, killing 346 people. Both crashes were linked to a faulty system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). The flawed software pushed the nose of the aircraft downward based on erroneous sensor data. This led to a global grounding of the 737 MAX fleet for over 20 months. US Congressional investigations revealed a “culture of concealment” at Boeing.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu has confirmed that investigators have recovered one of the black box recorders from the crashed Air India flight. “The Flight Data Recorder (Black Box) has been recovered within 28 hours from the accident site in Ahmedabad by AAIB,” said Kinjarapu. “This marks an important step forward in the investigation. This will significantly aid the enquiry into the incident,” the minister added in a post on social media platform X. “AAIB began work with full force immediately. Over 40 staff from the state government joined efforts to augment the MoCA (Ministry of Civil Aviation) teams on site. “The DFDR (Black Box) has been recovered from the rooftop,” the statement said.
A large team of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) assisted by 40 personnel from the Gujarat government found the digital flight data recorder (DFDR), or black box. The black box will play a vital role in unravelling the cause that led to one of the deadliest plane crashes in India. Though called a black box, it is typically a bright orange device for easy visibility amid debris and underwater.
The black box comprises two devices - the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR). The cockpit voice recorder collects radio transmissions and sounds such as the pilot’s voices and engine noises. The black box contains crucial information such as flight speed, altitude, engine performance, and cockpit audio, including communications between the pilots and air traffic control.
It is built to withstand extreme temperatures, water, and severe impact, ensuring the survival of key data even in catastrophic conditions. Constructed from highly durable materials like steel and titanium, the device has two main components: the DFDR and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR). The DFDR logs technical flight parameters, while the CVR captures audio from the cockpit, including pilot discussions and radio exchanges with air traffic control.
Depending on what happened, investigators may pay close attention to the engine noise, stall warnings and other clicks and pops. And from those sounds, investigators can often determine engine speed and the failure of some systems.
The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was bound for London Gatwick airport on Thursday when it issued a mayday call shortly before it crashed around lunchtime on Thursday. The nose and front wheel of Air India flight 171 landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch, witnesses said. Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members.