Families of those killed in the Air India AI-171 crash demanded the release of the aircraft's black box data and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript, questioning the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) decision to withhold the material while promising only a final investigation report.
The families also called for greater transparency in the probe, sought a permanent memorial at the crash site and raised questions over the role of simulator tests in the ongoing investigation.
Representatives of the victims' families met in Ahmedabad to discuss the AAIB's recent affidavit before the Supreme Court, in which the agency said it would not make public the black box data or the CVR transcript.
The London Gatwick-bound Air India flight AI-171 crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, 2025. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground, making it India's deadliest aviation disaster in decades.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Romin Vahora, who lost his brother, niece and aunt in the crash, questioned why excerpts of the cockpit conversation were included in the preliminary report if the authorities believed such material should remain confidential.
"If they never intended to release the data, why did they release a cockpit voice recording transcript (as part of preliminary report) just a few days after the crash?" Vahora asked, adding that the families wanted to know whether the selective disclosure was meant to "shift the blame onto the pilots or mislead the victims' families".
Vahora said the families wanted the raw black box data to be made public, handed over to them or shared with their legal representatives.
"If they only give us a summarised report, what guarantee do we have that it is accurate? Until the actual black box data is released, nobody can definitively assure us whether the report is true or false," said Vahora, a resident of Kheda district.
He said the families had not yet initiated legal proceedings and were awaiting the final investigation report, while their lawyers were exploring all legal options to secure access to the black box data.
According to Vahora, the families would continue pursuing the release of the data, arguing there was no clear justification for withholding it when similar information had been made public in investigations into several previous air crashes.
He added that if the report was not released within the timeline mentioned in the AAIB's affidavit, the families would consider staging protests after obtaining the necessary permissions.
Last week, the AAIB informed the Supreme Court that the draft final report into the June 12 crash was expected to be ready in October.
In its affidavit, the bureau said there was an "absolute statutory prohibition" on disclosing cockpit voice recordings and airborne image recordings from the crash to any external committee or the public.
It said witness statements, cockpit voice recorder recordings and transcripts, air traffic control communications and medical information must remain confidential, as disclosure could compromise the ongoing investigation as well as future aviation safety inquiries.
The victims' families also renewed their demand for a permanent memorial at the AI-171 crash site.
Vahora urged the government, Air India and the Tata Group to earmark land and allocate funds for a monument commemorating those who lost their lives.
Lawyer Saloni Palkhiwala, who lost her sister Sanjana Palkhiwala in the crash, urged the government to use its powers to make an exception and release at least the cockpit conversation transcript, if not the audio recording.
"It has been one year, one month and nine days. The least they could do is let the families know what happened in the last few seconds," she said, claiming that transcripts had been released in investigations into several major international air crashes.
Referring to what she described as the delay in the investigation, Palkhiwala said the families were not seeking a rushed inquiry but wanted the truth to emerge without protecting any corporate or institutional interests.
She also supported the demand for a memorial, saying it would honour the victims and reflect the country's respect for those who lost their lives and their families.
(With inputs from PTI)
