Air India Crash: Aviation Minister on Probe Timeline, Black Box, and Safety

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India's ministry of civil aviation authorities on Saturday said the government has put together a new committee to investigate the Air India Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 241 of the 242 people onboard.

At his first press briefing since the crash, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the committee has been given a three-month window to submit a report and will have its first meeting Monday. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will continue to lead a separate technical probe.

Naidu confirmed the recovery of the black box from the crash site at 5pm on Friday. This discovery is expected to play a key role in understanding what caused the aircraft to go down just a minute after takeoff.

Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha confirmed additional details: The Air India flight had completed its journey from Paris to Delhi to Ahmedabad without incident, he said. It took off for its final leg to London at 1:39 PM on June 12.

“After reaching at a height of 650 feet, the aircraft started to lose height. The pilot gave a Mayday call to the ATC at 1:39 PM,” Sinha said. “...there was no response. After exactly one minute, the aircraft crashed in Meghani Nagar, situated about 2 km from the airport.”

Naidu made it clear that India maintains strong safety oversight mechanisms. “We have very strict safety standards in the country,” he said. “Many international organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), have time and again established that we do have a very strict and robust protocol.”

Still, precautionary action has already been initiated. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered extended safety checks on all Boeing 787 aircraft in the Indian fleet.

After the press conference, Air India said it has completed inspections on nine aircraft, with the remaining 24 to be checked “within the timeline provided by the regulator.”

An Air India spokesperson on Saturday confirmed it is cooperating fully with the checks and is inspecting each aircraft as it returns from service, before allowing it to fly again.

“These checks are being carried out on the Boeing 787 fleet as they return to India, before being cleared for their next operations,” an Air India spokesperson said.

The spokesperson warned of potential delays due to the extra turnaround time, especially on long-haul routes with airport curfews. Passengers have been advised to check flight status on Air India’s website. Refunds and complimentary rescheduling options are being provided to affected flyers.

Post-crash, the focus has also been on identifying victims and assisting next of kin. DNA testing is underway to match remains with family members.

“We have instructed Air India also to facilitate in the process of assisting the families of the passengers in whatever way is required,” the Minister said.

Air India on Saturday said that it will be providing an interim payment of INR 2.5 million ($29,000) each to the families of the deceased and to the survivor, to help address immediate financial needs. This is in addition to the INR 10 million ($116,000) support already announced by Tata Sons.