What to Know About the Black Boxes Recovered From Boeing Air India Crash

A man looks at the wreckage of the tail section of the Air India Boeing 787-8, which crashed near the airport in Ahmedabad, India on June 12. (Basit Zargar / Middle East Images via AFP via Getty Images)

Boeing stock rose Thursday as investors waited for details from flight data recorders on board Air India flight 171, which 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 hope that aviation officials would soon be able to explain what happened.

Shares of the commercial-jet maker added 1.8% on Thursday, closing at $215.92, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average each gained 0.8%.

One factor that might have influenced Thursday trading was a Reuters report saying in part that Boeing and the Justice Department were seeking judicial approval for a May deal struck to help Boeing avoid criminal prosecution for the two deadly 737 MAX crashes, which happened in 2018 and 2019. Investors, however, are aware of the deal details, which include additional compensation for the families of crash victims. Not all of the families are happy with the settlement, however, which adds some uncertainty about finalizing the agreement.

Coming into Thursday, Boeing stock was down about 1% since the crash, while shares of GE Aerospace were flat. 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 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. Though called black boxes, the data recorders are usually orange to make them easier to find. They can survive an impact 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.

India’s Minister of State for Civil Aviation, 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.

Losing one engine on a commercial jetliner is incredibly rare. Losing both at the same time is rarer by an order of magnitude. In its 2024 safety report, the International Civil Aviation Organization counted only two accidents among more than 35 million flights in which planes lost control while in flight. That could be an engine issue, but loss of control can happen for other reasons, too. There were no instances in which a Boeing or Airbus jet lost two engines at the same time.

It’s still too early for investors to know anything definitively. 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