The black boxes will provide cockpit conversations and data related to the plane's engine and control settings to investigators and help them in determining the cause of the crash.

There have been cases of a very small number of survivors in very serious accidents, but it is "very rare" for there to be only one, a professor told Newsweek.

The crash of a Boeing 787 passenger jet in India minutes after takeoff on Thursday is the latest incident that adds to woes at the troubled U.S. planemaker.