New Delhi: One of the engines of the Air India plane that crashed last week was new, according to the airline’s chairman. The other engine was due for servicing until December, chairman N Chandrasekaran said.
N Chandrasekaran, while speaking to a news channel, said both engines of the ill-fated flight had “clean” histories.
“The right engine was a new one that was fitted into the aircraft in March 2025. The left engine was last serviced in 2023 and due for its next maintenance check in December 2025,”he told Times Now.
At least 270 people were killed last Thursday when AI171, a London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport.
Air India ‘Black Box’ Damaged, May Have To Be Sent Abroad: Sources
The black box, which comprises the Cockpit Voice Recorder, or CVR, and the Flight Data Recorder, or FDR, of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane has sustained damage. According to reports citing sources, it may have to be sent to the United States to continue the data extraction process, reported News 18. The government will take the final call in this regard.
If the ‘black box’ is sent to the US, a contingent of Indian officials will accompany it to ensure that all protocols are followed.
The ‘black box’ from the doomed Air India flight was recovered Monday. The ‘black boxes’ are actually bright orange in colour. The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captures up to 25 hours of cockpit conversations, noise, radio calls with air traffic control, and audible alerts in newer aircraft models. However, AI-171 was operating a Boeing 787 delivered in 2014, prior to the 2021 mandate for 25-hour CVR storage. Therefore, the recorder likely had a two-hour recording capacity, the News 18 report claimed.
The Flight Data Recorder (FDR), on the other hand, collects data on altitude, airspeed, heading, vertical acceleration, and control surface movements, among others.
