The Centre has granted Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) X category security cover to Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) chief GVG Yugandhar, as per sources.
According to sources, the X category security was extended to AAIB Director General GVG Yugandhar, effective from June 16.
This move comes as the AAIB is spearheading the investigation into the Air India plane crash that claimed the lives of 241 passengers and crew members.
On June 12, a London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a hostel complex of BJ Medical College, Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The tragedy claimed 241 lives out of 242 onboard, including former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Lab in New Delhi is currently working intensively on analysing data retrieved from the black boxes of Air India Flight AI-171, which crashed in Ahmedabad.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved. On June 25, 2025, the memory module was successfully accessed, and its data was downloaded at the AAIB Lab.
Sources familiar with the process told ANI that an identical black box, referred to as a “golden chassis,” was used to confirm whether data could be accurately recovered from the black boxes. One black box was recovered from the rooftop of a building at the crash site on June 13, and the other from the debris on June 16.
The investigation is being led by AAIB officials and includes technical members from the Indian Air Force (IAF), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) of the United States–the official investigative agency of the country where the aircraft was designed and manufactured.
The Director General of AAIB is heading the probe. An aviation medicine expert and an Air Traffic Control officer have also been included in the investigation team.
Sources confirmed that the NTSB team is currently stationed in Delhi and working closely with Indian authorities at the AAIB Lab. Officials from Boeing and GE are also present in the national capital to assist with the technical process.
