What to Know About the Black Boxes Recovered From Boeing Air India Crash -- Barrons.com

Dow Jones
Jun 30, 2025

Al Root

Boeing stock was rising slightly Monday as investors awaited details from flight data recorders recovered from Air India flight 171, which tragically crashed on June 12, less than a minute after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport.

Data recovery from the recorders began in Delhi this past week, bringing some hope that aviation officials would be able to explain what happened soon.

Shares of the commercial-jet maker rose 0.1% in premarket trading Monday to $214.80, while both S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.4%.

Coming into Monday, Boeing stock has traded flat since the tragic crash. Shares of GE Aerospace have risen almost 4%. The Air India 787 was powered by GEnx engines.

The plane was a 12-year-old Boeing 787 that had accumulated 41,700 flight hours over 7,800 flights. The jet underwent a "C check," which is a comprehensive inspection done every 20 to 24 months, in 2023, according to reports. The engines were overhauled earlier in 2025 in accordance with typical operating procedures.

GE also supplied the black black boxes -- the flight-data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder -- on the 787, reports said. Boeing and GE didn't respond to requests for comment from Barron's about the data recorders. That isn't unusual. Companies are careful to let aviation authorities take the lead.

India's aviation regulator didn't respond to a request for comment about the data recorders.

A 787 is equipped with two Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders, or EAFRs, one in the front of the jet and one in the back. EAFRs combine voice and data recording, and, of course, aren't black. They are typically orange to help aid recovery and can survive an impact force equivalent to roughly 3,500 times their weight.

The data recorders are required, by regulation, to record at least 88 different flight parameters, such as air speed and altitude. Most modern recorders collect more than 88 parameters. Voice recorders are required to have a 25-hour recording capacity.

Minister of state for civil aviation of India, Murlidhar Mohol, said in a recent television interview that authorities were looking for reasons both engines failed. Fuel, electrical, and hydraulic issues were being considered, along with others.

Investors can expect a full report in the coming months. Preliminary reports could shed some light on the root causes in the coming weeks.

Air India still operates more than 30 787 jets. All have been inspected since the crash without any material findings.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

 

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June 30, 2025 06:11 ET (10:11 GMT)

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