The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and officials from other central agencies arrived at the crash site of Air India Flight AI171 in Ahmedabad on Friday, a day after the devastating accident that claimed 241 lives. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner, carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members, crashed into the residential quarters of a medical college complex just moments after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
Only one passenger miraculously survived the crash, which has become India’s deadliest single-aircraft disaster in decades. The cause of the crash remains unknown, prompting multi-agency involvement in the probe.
Sources confirmed the visit of central agency teams but did not provide further details about their findings or purpose.
AAIB Leads Crash Investigation, Black Box Search Ongoing
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has officially launched an investigation into the crash. The AAIB is the designated authority for classifying and probing aircraft safety incidents in Indian airspace, and its findings are expected to play a critical role in uncovering the sequence of events that led to the mid-air emergency.
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Meanwhile, Gujarat Police and Fire Brigade personnel are working round-the-clock to locate the aircraft’s black box—an essential flight recorder device that captures cockpit audio and flight data. Officials say the black box’s recovery will be crucial in determining what went wrong during the brief flight.
“The black box contains key technical data and cockpit conversations, which could help identify what triggered this tragic disaster,” a fire brigade official said.
Air India has confirmed that all but one of the 242 people onboard perished in the crash. Investigators are particularly focused on understanding why the aircraft lost altitude so rapidly and struck the BJ Medical College premises in the Meghaninagar area.
As the investigation expands, attention is also being directed at the aircraft’s mechanical condition, flight operations protocol, and possible external factors that might have contributed to the crash.
