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The CVR - which records audio from the cockpit including the pilot's voices, warning alarms, and other ambient background noise - was found sometime after the aircraft went down. It was located days after the flight data recorder (FDR) that captures information including altitude, airspeed, and engine activity.
Together, these two devices are known as the plane’s “black box,” even though they are bright orange for visibility on recovery. These recorders are designed to withstand catastrophic crash conditions and are vital to piecing together a flight’s final minutes.
Crash investigation and international participation
The investigation is being led by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) with assistance from the United States and the United Kingdom. Investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board visited the crash scene over the weekend. Because the plane was American-made, there is a separate inquiry underway to probe the incident under international protocols.
Other agents from Boeing were joined by the US Federal Aviation Administration, who also visited the site as part of the investigation. Meanwhile, an Indian government-appointed high-level committee is all set to look into the reason for the crash. The committee is supposed to give its interim report in three months and recommend revised standard operating procedures to check such mishaps in the future.
Dozens were killed and continued identification on the ground
The AI171 flight went down barely half a minute after taking off, plowing into a doctors’ accommodation building at BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital. Among 242 passengers and crew, only one person survived. Investigators are still trying to ascertain how many people died on the ground and to identify all the victims by matching DNA to family members.
So far, doctors say they have retrieved 270 bodies. More than 90 victims have been identified using DNA samples, and 47 bodies returned to their families, said Dr. Rajnish Patel of Ahmedabad’s Civil Hospital on Monday. Among the confirmed victims is Vijay Rupani who has served as the former chief minister of Gujarat. He will be buried Monday in Rajkot with full state honors.
There are still many families waiting in limbo. The victims have been difficult to identify because the bodies, which were badly burnt in the crash, were in various states of decomposition, the authorities said. More officials are working in shifts to match DNA in procedures to confirm identities.
Mistry Jignesh, who was at the hospital waiting for news about his niece, spoke of the frustration and grief of the family. Officials had told him the remains would be transferred within 72 hours, he said, but delays have led to doubt. “How can they possibly complete the DNA process by tomorrow when there are still people missing? he asked. “What if my niece hasn’t been found yet? The wait is killing us."
