The name “black box” is a bit misleading. In reality, it’s not always black and isn’t necessarily shaped like a box. “Flight recorders,” which is what they’re called in technical terms, are coated with a heat-resistant orange paint and have light-reflective elements — a bright object is easier to find in the wreckage after a plane crash. The “box” has either a spherical or cylindrical shape, which are the least vulnerable to destruction. In essence, a flight recorder is similar to a flash drive, only more heavily protected: its memory board is hidden behind stainless-steel armor and thermal insulation. Such a construction allows the black box to withstand:
temperatures of 2,012 °F for up to one hour;
the impact of hitting a concrete wall at a speed of 466 mph;
2.5 t of pressure for at least five consecutive minutes;
a depth of 19,685 ft underwater for one month.
In the event that the airplane crashes above water, the recorder is equipped with an ultrasonic beacon. Upon contact with water, it sends a signal that facilitates the subsequent search.
Location on a Plane
An airplane has several recorders with different functions.
- The cockpit voice recorder, or CVR, is located in the tail of an aircraft. In the event of a crash, this part is exposed to the least impact. The CVR records the speech of pilots and flight attendants, as well as passenger announcements, air-to-ground communications, instructions of the onboard computer, and background noise. It stores the most recent two hours of information, and new information is recorded over the old data, as in video surveillance systems. It’s not necessary to record data throughout the entire flight: to investigate an accident, you only need the information that was recorded immediately before or during the crash. At the time of the accident, the recording stops.
- The flight data recorder, or FDR, is also installed in the tail of the aircraft. It continuously registers all flight parameters at every point in time — trajectory, altitude, airspeed, engine performance, fuel levels, landing gear position, and many others. Such a large amount of data is needed to recreate the full picture of an accident. The flight data recorder stores data longer than the cockpit voice recorder — around twenty-four hours. This helps uncover any malfunction that occurred during previous flights.
- The quick access recorder, or QAR, records data that are used to improve the handling of an aircraft, such as cabin temperature. These parameters have little to do with safety; that’s why this recorder isn’t protected from aggressive weather conditions — it’s not really necessary.
Retrieving and Analyzing Data from the Black Box
Decoding a black box means downloading information from the recorders using specialized software and structuring it for further analysis. This information allows specialists to model the course of events on a special simulator or computer program. If the recorder has been damaged—for example, if it gets burned or crushed—the memory card will have to be repaired, right down to soldering the microcircuits, in order to read the data. This can take several months.
Technology continues to advance and become more cost-effective. These recorders are becoming more widespread in other areas, such as in the automotive, rail, and water transport industries. Perhaps, in the future an aircraft will be able to store flight information in regular cloud storage in real-time.
Components of a Black Box
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