Investigators have recovered the Cockpit Voice Recorder (VCR) from the London en route, ill-fated Air India flight that crashed on June 13, 2025 shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad Airport in India.

This development will be a key step in uncovering what caused the deadly crash that left at least 241 people dead.

The CVR captures audio from the cockpit, including pilot conversations, alarms and ambient sounds.

Another crucial device, the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), which captures flight parameters like speed, engine performance and altitude, had been recovered from the debris on Saturday, in an ongoing operation.

The VCR and FDR collectively form what is known as the “black box” of a plane, a crucial tool in air crash investigations that aids experts in reconstructing a flights final moments and determine the cause of the catastrophe.

In contrast to what the name suggests, the ”black box” is actually two bright orange devices- one for VCR and another for FDR- coated with reflective stripes for easier identification within a debris.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner’s crash is being investigated by India’s Aircraft Accidents Investigations Bureau (AAIB), as the lead, with assistance teams from both the United Kingdom and United States.

“The AAIB has launched a detailed investigation, and the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting a parallel probe under International protocols, since the aircraft is American-made,” the AAIB said in a statement on Sunday.

Officials from both agencies have so far visited the site, as the Indian government already set up a committee to examine the reasons behind the crash. The committee is supposed to hold its first meeting on Monday 16, 2025.

As investigations proceed, the world continues to grapple with disbelief and shock over the crash that has been termed as “India’s worst aviation disasters in decades”.