AI 171 crash: An upgrade for India’s own ‘Black Box Lab’

Early April this year, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated the cutting-edge Digital Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder (DFDR & CVR) Laboratory at the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) at Udaan Bhawan in the national capital.

The facility widely referred to as the “Black Box Lab” was established with an investment of Rs 9 crore with the support of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to establish advanced DFDR and CVR laboratories and equipping them to analyse retrieved flight data from aircraft.

However, the AAIB laboratory may require advanced technology upgrade, amidst reports that the black box of the crashed Air India flight is now being sent to US based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for analysis.

The laboratory reportedly doesn’t have the capacity to extract data from recorders that have sustained such heavy damage.

The experts at AAIB laboratory tried to extract the data but require some advanced tools when recorders are heavily damaged, said official sources.

Initially, it was said that the state-of-the-art facility will enable AAIB to repair damaged black boxes, retrieve data, and conduct thorough analyses of accidents and incidents. With the ability to correlate data from the Cockpit Voice Recorder, Radar, and Flight Data Recorder, the lab was to enhance the accuracy of investigative findings. The establishment of this lab, built to international standards and comparable to those of developed nations, fulfilled India’s obligations as an ICAO member state.

With India’s aviation sector set to grow a faster pace, having an advanced laboratory is important for identification of root causes of incidents more effectively and ensuring accountability, which remains the cornerstone of aviation safety.

The NTSB team will carry the recorders to their lab under protection and supervision from Indian officials to ensure that proper protocols are followed. The data will then be shared with AAIB. UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch will also be present there as 53 British citizens were among the deceased passengers.

Since the recorder has been damaged, the chip will need to be extracted by removing the memory board to prevent further damage to data. The electronic circuit will also be assessed for damage.