Air India crash investigators recover plane's black box from a rooftop

The Associated Press

· Posted: Jun 13, 2025 5:47 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Indian investigators connected Friday recovered the integer formation information recorder, oregon the achromatic box, of the Air India formation that fell from the entity and killed 241 radical connected committee and respective radical connected the ground, authorities said.

The London-bound Boeing 787 struck a aesculapian assemblage hostel erstwhile the level crashed into a residential country of the northwestern metropolis of Ahmedabad minutes aft takeoff Thursday.

The plane's achromatic container was recovered from a rooftop adjacent the clang tract and India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said that it had begun its enactment with "full force."

The achromatic container betterment marks an important measurement guardant successful the investigation, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said successful a societal media post.

The formation information recorder has the accusation connected motor and power settings, isolated from the dependable grounds of immoderate cockpit conversations, Prof. Paul Fromme, astatine the U.K.-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said successful a statement.

"This should amusement rapidly if determination was a nonaccomplishment of motor powerfulness oregon assistance aft takeoff and let a preliminary determination of the apt origin for the crash," said Fromme, who heads the nonrecreational association's aerospace division.

Separately, the country's civilian aviation regulator issued an bid directing Air India to bash further attraction and enhanced information inspections of its Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners equipped with General Electric's GEnx engines.

The cardinal inspections see the substance parameters, compartment aerial compressor, motor power system, hydraulic strategy and a reappraisal of takeoff parameters, according to the order.

The U.S. participants successful the probe are expected to see radical from the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric.

DNA investigating being conducted to place bodies

Investigators connected Friday continued searching the clang site, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the lone surviving passenger.

DNA investigating was being conducted to place bodies that were mostly charred beyond recognition. More victims are expected to beryllium recovered successful the hunt of the clang site, which was one of India's worst aviation disasters.

The level deed a gathering hosting a aesculapian assemblage hostel and burst into flames, sidesplitting respective students. 

"We are each devastated by the aerial calamity successful Ahmedabad. The nonaccomplishment of truthful galore lives successful specified a abrupt and heartbreaking mode is beyond words," Modi said connected societal media aft visiting the site, which was in his location authorities of Gujarat.

"We recognize their symptom and besides cognize that the void near down volition beryllium felt for years to come." 

'I realized I was alive'

The subsister was seen successful tv footage gathering Modi astatine the authorities infirmary wherever helium was being treated for burns and different injuries.

Viswashkumar Ramesh told India's nationalist broadcaster helium inactive can't judge helium is alive. He said the craft seemed to go stuck instantly aft takeoff. He said past the lights came on, and close aft that it accelerated but seemed incapable to summation tallness earlier it crashed.

WATCH | Lone subsister walked from tract to ambulance:

He said the broadside of the level wherever helium was seated fell onto the crushed level of a gathering and determination was abstraction for him to flight aft the doorway broke open. He unfastened his seatbelt and forced himself retired of the plane.

 "When I opened my eyes, I realized I was alive," helium said. 

Grieving families gathered extracurricular the infirmary successful Ahmedabad connected Friday.

Two doctors astatine the infirmary said the bodies of 4 aesculapian students killed connected the crushed aft the level clang were handed to their families. They said astatine slightest 30 different injured students were inactive admitted successful the infirmary and astatine slightest 4 of them were critical.

Modi is scheduled to clasp a gathering with elder officials aboriginal Friday. He besides met immoderate of those injured connected the crushed during the infirmary visit. 

WATCH | 1st clang involving Boeing 787 Dreamliner:

Thursday's Air India clang progressive a 12-year-old Boeing 787. Boeing planes person been plagued by information issues connected different types of aircraft.

According to experts, determination are presently astir 1,200 of the 787 Dreamliner craft worldwide, and this was the archetypal deadly clang successful 16 years of operation.

Eyewitness accounts picture damage

Residents surviving successful the vicinity, who were among the archetypal to unreserved to the clang tract and assistance with rescue, described the standard of harm they had ne'er earlier seen.

"In the beginning, I couldn't recognize anything, it was lone fume everywhere. We could spot immoderate tiny parts [of the plane] burning," Indrajeet Singh Solanki said.

Solanki said helium and galore others helped the injured radical and rushed them to hospitals. "We had lone 1 purpose — to prevention lives nary substance what happens," helium said.

The calamity has near him shaken.

"It volition beryllium hard to slumber for the adjacent fewer days astatine least," Solanki said.