AI 171 plane crash: India won’t allow UN to join Air India probe, refuse to ICAO investigator observer status

India will not allow a United Nations (UN) investigator to join the ongoing probe of the Air India AI-171 plane crash that killed 274 people in Ahmedabad, news agency Reuters reported, citing sources. Earlier this week, the UN aviation agency offered India one of its investigators to assist with the plane crash. 

Moreover, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) asked its investigator, who was in India to probe the Ahmedabad plane crash, to be given observer status. Indian authorities refused the offer, as per sources. 

Meanwhile, the civil aviation ministry said that the investigators have recovered both the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR) approximately 2 weeks after the crash. The analysis of the black box data is currently underway as data extraction has begun at the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) laboratory. 

“The analysis of CVR and FDR data is underway. These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences,” the ministry said in an official statement. 

The CVR and FDR were recovered from the crash site in Ahmedabad — one from a building rooftop on June 13 and the other from the debris on June 16.  Previously, safety experts questioned a lack of information about the probe, including the status of the combined black box unit recovered. 

Questions were also raised on whether the recorders would be read in India or in the US, due to the National Transportation Safety Board’s participation in the probe. Under international rules known throughout the industry by their legal name “Annex 13,” the decision of where to read flight recorders should be made immediately in case the evidence obtained could avert future tragedies.

Earlier this week, an Indian aviation ministry official who declined to be named said the department has been “following all the ICAO protocols.” The official added that media representatives have made updates on important events. 

Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a preliminary report expected about 30 days after the accident.