The Air India flight fell from the sky on Thursday and killed at least 270 people in Gujarat state, officials said Saturday.

Union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu he was hopeful of “decoding what really happened” with the black box of the ill-fated airliner being recovered on Friday evening

Based on images of the Air India crash that killed over 200 people in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad on Thursday, experts predicted a difficult recovery and investigation operation exacerbated by the risks of unstable structures and gas leaks.

Just yesterday at Ahmedabad airport, Sangeeta Gauswami clung tightly to her only child, her heart swelling with pride as she saw off her 19-year-old son from their home in the western Indian state of Gujarat,

In a recorded statement from Ahmedabad, the Air India CEO said that he has assured the government that the carrier is "committed to full cooperation with those working on the ground and through the investigations".

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), under the Civil Aviation Ministry, has started a probe into the crash. The AAIB is responsible for classifying safety occurrences involving aircraft operating in Indian airspace as accidents and serious incidents.