On a rainy August night last year, the Air India Express flight IX-1344, on a mission for repatriation of stranded Indian nationals in West Asia, overshot the tabletop runway at Kozhikode airport in Kerala. The plane fell a few feet below in the gorge and broke into two, killing 20 people, including both pilots.

       In many ways, it was an uncomplicated investigation for the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), as its black box containing the data flight recorder was salvaged almost immediately without any damage. The delayed investigation The preliminary report should have been ...