NEW DELHI– The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has submitted its preliminary report on the Air India Flight AI171 crash to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and other relevant authorities, government officials confirmed Monday.
The report, based on initial assessments and early findings, is expected to be made public later this week, according to NDTV.
The London-bound Air India flight tragically crashed just seconds after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport on June 12, slamming into a medical college hostel. The crash killed 241 people on board and 19 on the ground. Miraculously, one passenger survived.
Investigators recovered the combined Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) on June 13, with a second set retrieved on June 16. The aircraft model was equipped with two black box systems.
A multi-disciplinary AAIB team began its investigation immediately on June 12, following an order from the bureau’s Director General. In line with international protocols set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) also joined the probe.
Officials are reported to be examining whether a dual-engine failure may have caused the crash.
The investigation is being led by AAIB personnel and includes technical experts from the Indian Air Force, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the U.S. NTSB, as the aircraft was designed and built in the United States. Boeing and GE, the aircraft and engine manufacturers respectively, are also involved in the technical review.
In addition to aviation engineers, the team includes an aviation medicine specialist and an Air Traffic Control (ATC) officer. The NTSB team collaborated closely with Indian authorities at the AAIB Lab in Delhi, which now houses India’s first fully-equipped facility capable of decoding black box data.
Until recently, Indian aviation authorities relied on foreign labs in countries such as the U.S., U.K., France, Canada, Italy, and Russia to analyze flight recorders from major crashes. The establishment of the AAIB Lab has now enabled domestic analysis of both cockpit voice and flight data recorders, a major milestone in India’s aviation safety infrastructure.
The full findings of the preliminary report are expected to provide more clarity on the chain of events that led to one of India’s deadliest aviation disasters in recent history. (Source: IANS)
