Damaged 'Black Box' of Air India May Need Overseas Transfer According to Sources
Air India's Crashed Dreamliner's 'Black Box': What's Next?
Whelp, looksy here, y'all. The cock 'n' balls of Air India's busted Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, y'know, that planewreck in Ahmedabad back in June, has taken a poundin' and may need to jet off to the Yanks for further examination. Sources are chattering that the government will make the final call.
Now, don't get yer knickers in a twist, these 'black boxes' ain't some secret, hot-and-steamy affair. They're a pair of devices—the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR). The dumb-assed 'black box' harpooned from the flamed-out Air India flight could be shipped to the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington DC for a once-over. If it heads stateside, a posse of Indian bods will tag along to see that all is on the level.
That Air India Flight AI171 went belly-up mere moments after liftoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, bound for London's Gatwick Airport. The bird stared rubber-side-down into a medical college student dorm, igniting a rager at 1:40 PM. Out of 242 soul-snatchers on board, only one dickpidge survived.
The 'black box' from the now-toast Air India ride was fished out a day after the debacle, approximately 28 hours post-crash. Guess what? These 'black boxes' ain't black, they're a vivid orange! Makes 'em easy to spot amongst the wreckage.
The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) estimates up to 25 hours of cockpit chatter, radio communications with air traffic control, and alerts. Air-one-seven-one was running a Boeing 787 delivered in 2014, pre-2021's 25-hour CVR data saver requirement, so that recorder probably only lasted two hours.
On the flipside, the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) keeps tabs on airspeed, altitude, heading, control movements, and such jazz on 'em modern amigos like the 787-8. Modern jets' FDRs can record a fuckton of data at once and loop for over 25 hours.
Time Line:
According to the Aviation Ministry, the plane took off at 1:39 PM local time June 12. It climbed just shy of 600 feet before the ascent came to an abrupt halt.
Thirty-six seconds in, a Mayday call squawked from the cockpit.
That S.O.S. was supposedly received by Ahmedabad ATC, but it led to a silent disco soon after.
A couple of seconds later, the plane plowed into residential digs adjacent to the airport's northeastern border. The casualties on the ground totaled 33 civvies in BJ Medical College accommodations. The sole survivor, a British-Indian fella in seat 11A, managed to cheat death.
[1] Enrichment Data: As of the present, the actual data recovery has not kicked off, as the black boxes remain unanalyzed.
[2] Enrichment Data: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is in charge of the analysis process, with support from U.S. teams. The AAIB is assessing technical, safety, and security aspects before deciding on the location for the data extraction, with rumors suggesting the Yanks are the top candidates.
- The 'black boxes' from the crashed Air India flight could be shipped to the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington DC, a move that may spark a close collaboration between Indian and American experts in the analysis process.
- The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) from Air India Flight AI171, which records airspeed, altitude, heading, control movements, and other critical data, might offer vital insights into the events leading up to the airplane's disastrous crash in Ahmedabad.
- As discussions regarding the analysis of the 'black boxes' from the Air India crash continue, the general news coverage on car-accidents, transportation safety, and the aviation industry is likely to stay at the forefront of many headlines, raising concerns and addressing questions regarding the future of air travel and flight safety.
