AI-171 crash: Black box will reveal final moments, says Naidu

New Delhi

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Saturday said that the Air India Flight that crashed in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, leaving 241 people dead, has shaken the entire nation.

Addressing a press briefing on Saturday, Naidu said, "The last two days have been very difficult, especially for the ministry and everyone else. The incident that happened in Ahmedabad has shaken the entire nation. My deepest condolences to the family members who have lost their loved ones in the incident. I have also personally lost my father to a road accident, so to a certain extent, I can understand the pain and anguish the family members are feeling."

"It was a moment of shock right after we got to know about the incident, but even in that disbelief, I personally rushed to the site to oversee what needed to be done and what support was needed. Once we rushed to the site, the government of Gujarat had already been working on the ground trying to rescue," he added.

The Minister said that the recovery of the Black Box from the debris was critical to the investigative process.

“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 5pm from the site, the 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..."