In a significant leap for India’s aviation safety capabilities, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is decoding black box data from the ill-fated Air India Flight AI-171 entirely within the country for the first time. The wide-body aircraft had crashed in Ahmedabad earlier this month, and the probe is being carried out at the AAIB Lab in New Delhi.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the memory module from the aircraft’s Crash Protection Module (CPM) was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB Lab on June 25. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder—commonly known as black boxes—were retrieved from the rooftop of a building and crash debris between June 13 and 16.

Officials said an identical black box, referred to as the “golden chassis,” was used to ensure that the data extraction would be accurate. The technical team includes representatives from the Indian Air Force, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is assisting as the aircraft’s country of manufacture.

The investigation is being led by the Director General of AAIB, with support from experts in aviation medicine and air traffic control. Teams from Boeing and GE are also present in Delhi to aid the technical process.

This is the first time India is fully decoding black boxes domestically—thanks to upgrades in equipment and infrastructure under the Centre’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Until recently, black box decoding was done abroad, including in Russia, the UK, the US, and Canada, leading to delays and concerns about transparency.

India’s adherence to global protocols under ICAO Annex 13 and the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, is being maintained throughout the process. Sources say the development marks a watershed moment for India’s aviation sector, enabling faster, more transparent investigations and enhancing public confidence in the country’s ability to independently probe major air crashes.