Air India Plane Crash: Investigators Recover Cockpit Voice Recorder as Probe Continues

A devastating crash of Air India Flight 171 outside Ahmedabad airport last week has left at least 29 people on the ground dead, alongside 242 passengers and crew members, with only one passenger surviving. As investigators recover the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, a loss of engine power is increasingly being seen as the most probable cause of the crash. The aircraft, a 12-year-old Boeing 787 Dreamliner, failed to gain altitude, climbing only about 450 feet before crashing, possibly due to reduced thrust from both General Electric GEnx engines.

Key Takeaways:

• The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder will be key to determining the possible cause of the crash, which has been designated as one of the worst aviation disasters in decades.
• All but one passenger among the 242 aboard died after the London-bound Boeing 787 aircraft crashed into the campus of a medical college in Ahmedabad city.
• At least 29 others on the ground, including five medical students inside the hostel, were also killed in the crash.
• The exact cause behind the "extremely rare" dual engine power loss remains unknown, with India's civil aviation authority (DGCA) launching urgent pre-flight inspections of fuel systems, electronic engine controls, and other components on Boeing 787 aircraft operated in the country.
• The bodies of 92 others have been identified through DNA matching and will be transferred to relatives soon, while hundreds of relatives of the crash victims provided DNA samples at the hospital over the weekend.
• Funerals were held in Ahmedabad for some of the crash victims, including former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, and authorities have begun inspecting Air India's entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
• Eight of the 34 Dreamliners in India have already undergone inspection, and the remaining aircraft will be examined with immediate urgency, aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu announced.

Statistics:

• 242 passengers and crew members were on board the aircraft, with only one passenger surviving the crash.
• 29 people on the ground, including five medical students, died in the crash.
• The aircraft, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, was 12 years old and had been in operation for 16 years without a fatal crash.
• 1,200 787 Dreamliners are currently in operation worldwide, making this the first deadly crash for this aircraft type in 16 years.
• India's civil aviation authority (DGCA) has launched urgent pre-flight inspections of fuel systems, electronic engine controls, and other components on Boeing 787 aircraft operated in the country.

Sources:

• "Air India plane crash latest: Evidence points to 'extremely rare' dual engine failure" - The Times
• "Air India flight forced to return to Hong Kong after mid-air technical issue" - The Times
• "Like an earthquake': Inside the medical hostel hit in Air India tragedy" - The Sun
• "Anjali Rupani, second left, wife of former Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijay Rupani, pays respect after receiving his body at a hospital in Ahmedabad, India, Monday, June 16, 2025" - The Associated Press
• "Air India plane disaster: Family members pay respects to victims in Ahmedabad" - The Associated Press
• "Inside view of a canteen building where the tail of the airplane stuck at the site of an airplane that crashed in India's northwestern city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat state" - The Associated Press