Aircraft's Black Box

A flight recorder (or aircraft's black box) is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents.

Black box consists of FDR and CVR. The flight data recorder (FDR) is an independent device that preserves the recent history of the flight through the recording of dozens of parameters collected several times per second. This piece of equipment is essential to the work of Air Crash Investigators as it records the many different operating functions of a plane all at once, such as the time, altitude, airspeed and direction the plane is heading. But these are just the primary functions of the recorder, in fact, modern Flight Data Recorders are able to monitor countless other actions undertaken by the plane, such as the movement of individual flaps on the wings, auto-pilot and fuel gauge. Information stored in the Flight Data Recorder of a plane that has crashed is invaluable for investigators in their search for determining what caused a specific crash. The data stored on the recorders helps Air Crash Investigators generate computer video reconstructions of a flight, so that they can visualise how a plane was handling shortly before a crash. 

The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) preserves the recent history of the sounds in the cockpit including the conversation of the pilots. The two recorders give a testimony, narrating the flight history with accuracy and impartiality, to assist in an investigation. The main purpose of the Cockpit Voice Recorder is, unsurprisingly, to record what the crew say and monitor any sounds that occur within the cockpit. While investigators might be interested in any witty banter between pilots that went on just before an explosion or plane malfunction, trained investigators are keen to pick up on sounds such as engine noise, stall warnings or emergency pings and pops. Investigators are so skilled that they are then able to work out crucial flight information such as the speed the plane was travelling and engine rpm and can sometimes pinpoint the cause of a crash from the very sounds the plane was making before it crashed. The Cockpit Voice Recorder is also extremely important for determining the timing of events as it contains information such as communication between the crew and ground control and other aircraft. The Cockpit Voice Recorder is usually located in the tail of a plane.

The Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder are invaluable tools for Air Crash Investigators worldwide and will continue to play a major role in finding out the causes of aviation accidents, as well as offering plane manufacturers and government’s considerable ideas to help make air travel as safe as possible.