AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Indian investigators on Friday recovered the digital flight data recorder, or the black box, of the Air India flight that fell from the sky and killed 241 people on board and several people on the ground, authorities said.

The recovery of the flight data recorder from the crashed Air India Boeing 787 marks a crucial step in understanding the accident's cause, which resulted in 241 fatalities.

The black box from Air India's ill-fated Ahmedabad-London flight was recovered from the rooftop of the medical college hostel building it crashed into minutes after take-off on Thursday.