Ahmedabad Air India tragedy: Gujarat ATS recover Digital Video Recorder (DVR) from crash site; here's how it is different from black box

NEW DELHI: Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officers on Friday recovered a Digital Video Recorder (DVR) from the debris of the Air India Dreamliner that crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport, killing dozens.Confirming the recovery, an ATS personnel at the crash site said, “It’s a DVR, which we have recovered from the debris. The FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) team will come here soon.”Is DVR and Black Box same?DVR is not the same as a black box, which typically comprises two key aviation components: the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).While a DVR is commonly used in homes, offices, or public surveillance systems to store CCTV footage, a black box is a highly durable, crash-survivable device that records flight parameters and cockpit audio — vital for understanding the cause of an air crash.The DVR could help track passenger boarding or the last visual recordings before the flight took off.The black box, meanwhile, remains the most critical piece of equipment in aviation crash probes. It records data like altitude, engine performance, and pilot conversation. As investigators continue combing through wreckage strewn across residential areas and parts of BJ Medical College’s campus, the DVR could offer answers but the real questions are still locked inside the missing black box.