'Decoding Black Box Data, High-Level Committee To Submit Report In 3 Months': Aviation Minister During 1st Press Briefing On Air India Crash
New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Saturday addressed the media over the deadly Air India crash incident that took place on Thursday, June 12. The Union Minister said that that he recovery of the Black Box from the debris was important in the investigation of the crash. He added that authorities are decoding the black box data.
"The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, which was formed specifically to look into the incidents, accidents that happen around aircraft, was immediately mobilised. One important update from the technical investigation which is happening through the AAIB is the recovery of the black box yesterday around 5 pm from the site," Naidu told media.
"He AAIB team believes that this decoding of the black box is going to give an in depth insight into what would have happened during the process of the crash or moments before the crash itself. We are also eagerly waiting for what the results or the report are going to be once the AAIB goes through its full investigation," he added.
Naidu also said that that high-level committee formed to probe the crash will submit report in three months.
"The high-level committee is going to do its own investigation, which is going to be independent of all the investigations that are going to happen. The AAIB is going to be the technical side of the investigation. Which will be very much core to what we are trying to do in finding out what exactly happened. The high-level committee is also going to meet very soon. On Monday itself they are going to meet. They are going to try to finish the process within three months to get a consolidated report on this investigation," the minister said.
He also stated the government is carrying out an extended surveillance of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane.
"We have very strict safety standards in the country...When the incident happened, we also felt that there is a need to do an extended surveillance into the Boeing 787 Series. DGCA has also given an order to do the extended surveillance for the 787 planes," Naidu stated.
“There are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today. I believe that 8 have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done,” he added.
Notably, the government on Saturday constituted a high-level multidisciplinary committee for examining the causes leading to the crash of Air India Flight AI-171.
The Committee will examine the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines issued to prevent and handle such occurrences and suggest comprehensive guidelines for dealing with such instances in the future," an order issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry read.
On Saturday, officials from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) arrived in Ahmedabad.
The death toll in the London-bound Air India flight crash rose to 274 on Saturday after rescue teams recovered more bodies on Friday. Among the deceased were 241 passengers and crew onboard the ill-fated plane and people on the ground, including medical students, when the aircraft crashed into the of BJ Medical College campus and burst into a ball of fire
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