The box that carries the truth

2002/06/09 Atxotegi Alegria, Uhaina - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Garraioak
• Aeronautika

The black box was invented in 1957 by David Warren, a member of the Australian Society of Science. This device was first used in the city of Queensland in 1960.

Of the accidents of this means of transport, there are usually very few people who survive due to the high speed of the plane and other factors. As a result, you rarely know what really happened during the trip.

The safety of aircraft is heavily influenced by time.

The black box was invented to deal with this problem. This device is considered one of the most important advances in commercial aviation. It is mainly used to explain the causes of plane accidents: it records flight data and cockpit interviews. These recordings allow to know the problems of the pilots and the rest of the personnel during the flight.

The pilots, knowing that they carry the black box on the plane, when problems occur during the flight, pronounce all the information high in front of the microphones, since they know that in case of accident it will be useful for the researchers.

Location and operation

The black box is located in the tail area of the plane, which is the area with the lowest risk of device breakage. In fact, as mentioned above, it is usually orange, especially to be easily searched after the accident.

The black box is manufactured with resistant materials such as titanium. Be able to withstand very high impacts so that it will not be destroyed after the accident and keep all the information it carries with it.

Many accidents occur when landing and taking off.

With the plane on the ground a single engine is lit and five minutes the black box recorder is launched. Turning off the engine stops and is done automatically at 5 minutes.

Resistance tests

For researchers to do their work well and collect all recordings, each black box is passed several tests.

To determine if their resistance level is right, they throw from a cannon to a wall at the same speed as the plane. In addition, each black box carries inside a fire device at a temperature of 1,100 °C for 30 minutes and 3,400 g (gravity: Able to withstand an impact of 9.81 m/s 2). On the other hand, if a plane falls into the sea or any other type of liquid, it must remain 36 hours without undo at a depth equal to or greater than 900 m.

Cockpit Voice Recorder or black box can store up to 300 different flight data. Among them, the main ones are speed, altitude, vertical speed taking, cockpit conversations and radio communications. In the black boxes that are installed on all planes, all recordings are stored in four channels: the communications of the commander in one, those of the co-pilot in another, those of the flight engineer in a third and the conversations between those of the cockpit in the last channel.

Studio black box

Access to the accident area is restricted to researchers.

After a plane crash it is necessary to collect and analyze the information from the black box. But who and how does it? Airlines, ministries of transport of each country, police, a special association...?

This type of research is carried out by special associations. Worldwide, there is the International Civil Aviation Organization, which has its own civil aviation association, respecting its guidelines.

These groups do not aim to appoint criminals, they are totally independent and their job is to conduct technical studies as direct as possible.

In the event of an accident, the heads of investigation of the Civil Aviation Association approach the site of the accident. Each of them usually has several partners to make the test more effective. Each team is in charge of analyzing air traffic and meteorology at the time of the accident, of interviewing the people who survive and, among other things, of verifying all the devices inside the plane. But not all of these tools are analyzed in the accident area. This is because the black box can move easily, it is somewhat complex and, in addition, it carries a lot of personal information that cannot be disseminated publicly (among others, personal interviews of drivers or workers), so it is normally analyzed in laboratories.

The groups of researchers who approach the scene of the accident, after receiving the results of the study of the black box, present a general report composed of different sections: presentation of facts, analysis, conclusions, causes of the accident and recommendations.

Before the flight they have to do many checks.

This general report is first delivered to the airline by the civil aviation association and later to the media. The media must have the authorization of commanders, pilots and airplane employees recorded in black box, or their relatives, in order to launch their conversations or personal information.

To know for sure the causes of a plane crash, the almost unbreakable orange box is essential. It contains technical and personal flight data and carries the truth. Although we prefer not to analyze this progressive tool, when the case occurs, it can help us a lot to avoid other accidents.

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