On Thursday, the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London, crashed minutes after takeoff. It issued the emergency MAYDAY call shortly after takeoff, then crashed outside the airport's perimeter.
Hours later, one of the two black boxes was recovered from the rear of the aircraft. The second, still missing, is crucial for piecing together the final seconds.
Every airliner carries two: the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) logs altitude, speed, and engine performance. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captures crew conversations, alarms, and radio transmissions.
Together, they offer a second-by-second account of a flight’s final moments — often the only voice left when disaster strikes.
For AI171, the black box could reveal whether a stalled engine, bird strike, onboard fire or human error triggered the crash, and show exactly how the pilots fought to regain control.
Once recovered, the data is sent to forensic labs. Experts decode, sync, and analyse it with radar logs and air traffic control recordings.
Initial insights may come within 24 hours. However, full analysis could take weeks, depending on damage and complexity.
In India, the 2020 Kozhikode crash investigation relied heavily on these recordings. The black box data helped cracked open the truth and shaped aviation safety.
In a tragedy with no survivors, the black box speaks for the lost and helps the world fly safer tomorrow.