The black boxes, which are actually bright orange in colour, are critical in aircraft accident investigations as they provide data on numerous parameters and aircraft systems, helping the investigators identify the most likely causes of an accident.

Air India Flight 171 was airborne for less than 40 seconds before it plunged into a densely-populated neighbourhood in AhmedabadInvestigators now face the grim task of sifting through the wreckage and decoding the cockpit voice and flight data recorders of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to piece together what went catastrophically wrongAgainst the backdrop of the London-bound plane tragedy,