New Delhi: Following the crash of an Air India aircraft minutes after its takeoff from the Ahmedabad airport, a critical instrument comes into the spotlight—the humble black box. In April 2025, Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu inaugurated India’s first black box lab for air crash investigations.
Black boxes are aviation devices that record flight data and cockpit audio in order to dissect and investigate various on-board incidents. There are two elements to it: the first is an FDR (flight data recorder), while the second is a CVD (cockpit voice recorder). An FDR sources data through a variety of aircraft sensors, while the CVR records radio transmission and audio.
Contrary to popular belief, they’re also not black. They’re a flaming orange in order to make it easier for crew and investigating officials to find them in the aftermath of crashes.
The lab, built at a cost of Rs 9 crore, was developed with support from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The lab is equipped to repair damaged black boxes, recover and decode flight data, and correlate information from cockpit voice recordings, radar, and flight data systems. It meets international standards and elevates India’s accident investigation capabilities to be on par with those of developed nations.
If found, the black box from the Ahmedabad to London flight may reveal crucial information that led to the crash.
“Ram Mohan Naidu emphasised the significance of this new facility in bolstering aviation safety. He stated that this achievement brings India one step closer to a safer aviation ecosystem by enabling the identification of root causes of incidents more effectively and ensuring accountability, which remains the cornerstone of aviation safety,” states a press release shared by the Press Information Bureau. “The Minister highlighted that only through effective and independent investigations can future accidents be prevented.”
How they help
Black boxes are an inextricable part of aircraft safety. Not only do they assist in investigating crashes, but they’re also built to survive crashes and are resistant to high temperatures. They are also submerge-proof, emitting ultrasound signals for 30 days.
“Black boxes of an Air France flight that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 were found two years later at a depth of more than 10,000 feet, and technicians were able to recover most of the information,” according to a report in the Associated Press.
In April 2025, a helicopter which crashed in New York, killing an entire family, was found to be missing a black box.
When China’s aviation authorities discovered the black box from the China Eastern crash, it marked a new dawn for the investigation. However, only one was procured, and it was found to be damaged. It usually takes 10-15 days for box data to be mined.
There are two people credited with the invention of the black box –– French engineer Francois Hussenaut, who built the first flight data recorder and Australian scientist David Warren, who is believed to have created the CVR in the 1950s.