| One of the most interesting things about a lock is, it | | | | housed in a cylindrical casing made of three layers |
| must have a key. Obviously, the Flight Data Recorder | | | | that can withstand extreme heat, high impact and |
| is a key for the solution of aircraft accidents. Every | | | | pressure. The black box is painted orange, [not black] |
| investigation has to start with finding the FDR. It is a | | | | has reflective tape on its surface and is fitted with |
| device used to store specific performance | | | | underwater locator beacon. |
| parameters of an aircraft. | | | | Usually in aircraft crash, the tail section has survived, |
| What is black box? | | | | no matter how hazardous the crash was. You may |
| The FDR is also referred as black box. The modern | | | | seen in news, the tail showing the logo of the airline |
| term "black box" seems to have entered the English | | | | company proudly even after the big crash. |
| language around 1945. The phrase has become | | | | What's new in aircraft safety |
| popularized by modern media reporting on aircraft | | | | From latest reports of air crash, it should be noted |
| crashes. The modern day black box in the aviation | | | | that even FDR cannot be retrieved which points the |
| industry was first conceived by Aeronautical | | | | need of new aspects in aircraft's safety. Modern |
| Research Laboratories of Melbourne. In fact, these | | | | devices are self- ejecting, that's separated from |
| are never coloured black but are painted a bright | | | | aircraft, equipped with radio and sonar beacons for |
| colour to aid location after a crash. FDR records | | | | aiding their locations. For space shuttles, downlinks are |
| values of about 700 parameters and CVR records | | | | used. |
| conversations taking place in the cockpit. The data is | | | | |