Investigators have recovered the second "black box" - the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) from the Air India flight that crashed in India, a key step in unraveling the cause of last week's fatal crash, the BBC reports, writes UNN.
Details
The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, bound for London, crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday, June 12, from Ahmedabad in western India. At least 270 people were killed, most of them passengers.
The CVR records sound from the cockpit, including pilot conversations, alarms, and ambient sounds.
The Flight Data Recorder (FDR), which records critical flight parameters such as altitude, speed and engine performance, was recovered from the wreckage on Friday, June 13.
The CVR and FDR together form what is commonly referred to as the aircraft's "black box" or "black boxes." This is an important tool in aviation accident investigations, helping experts reconstruct the final moments of the flight and determine the cause of the incident, the publication notes.
The Indian Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the investigation into the causes of the disaster, assisted by teams from the United States and the United Kingdom.
On Sunday, officials from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) inspected the crash site.
"The AAIB has launched a detailed investigation, and the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting a parallel investigation in accordance with international protocols because the aircraft was made in America," the statement said on Sunday.
Indian media reported, citing sources, that officials from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) - the U.S. flight safety agency - also visited the crash site.
Separately, the first meeting of the High Level Committee, set up by the Indian government to investigate the causes of the disaster, is expected to take place on Monday.
The committee will submit a preliminary report within three months, All India Radio reported, and will propose new standard operating procedures (SOPs) to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
Addition
Less than a minute after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, AI171 crashed into a dormitory building for doctors at BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.
All but one of the 242 passengers and crew were killed. Officials are also trying to determine how many people died on the ground and are continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the identities of the victims.
Doctors said 270 bodies had been recovered from the crash site over the weekend.
More than 90 victims have been identified through DNA testing, Dr. Rajnish Patel of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital said on Monday. He added that 47 identified bodies had been sent to their families.
Among the identified victims is Vijay Rupani, the former Chief Minister of Gujarat, whose funeral will be held on Monday. Rupani, whose political career spanned more than 50 years, will be buried with full state honors in Rajkot.
For many other families, the agonizing wait continues.
Officials told the BBC that the identification process is slow and painstaking because many of the bodies were badly burned in the crash and are being processed in small batches.