Air India Ahmedabad Crash Probe to Be Lengthy and Complex, Says Former AAIB Chief

New Delhi: The investigation into the Air India aircraft crash that occurred in Ahmedabad on June 12 is expected to be a prolonged and technically challenging process, as the aircraft was severely damaged by fire, according to former Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Director General Group Captain Aurobindo Handa (Retd).
Speaking in an interview with PTI, Handa said the tedious task of collecting, verifying, and piecing together evidence from the crash site will take time, as large portions of the wreckage were charred, making identification of critical components and causes difficult.
He pointed out that although ICAO’s Annex 13 and India’s AAIB rules call for investigations to be ideally completed within one year, the level of damage in this case makes a longer process more likely. The priority of investigators, after retrieving the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR), will be to extract usable engineering data, convert it into charts and graphs, and methodically eliminate unlikely causes to identify the most probable reason behind the crash.
He further explained that AAIB’s protocol involves coordination with first responders such as airport staff, CISF, NDRF, and local police to secure the site, rescue any survivors, and preserve evidence. The wreckage is then sorted into specific categories—airframe, avionics, propulsion, and controls—so that deeper examination can begin.
India, he said, has adequate capability to handle such high-level investigations. AAIB, DGCA, and airlines have their own recorder analysis labs. When needed, national research institutions like NAL, HAL, and the LCA project are equipped to assist with expertise and infrastructure. In rare situations where there is a risk of data loss, AAIB may choose to send the recorders to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for secure data extraction.
Handa, who also headed the ICAO Accident Investigation Group in the Asia-Pacific region, has led more than 100 aircraft accident probes, including the 2020 Air India Express crash in Kozhikode.