Latest news with #DavidRonalddeMeyWarren
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
What is a black box? How does it work?
As thousands of commercial flights take to the skies daily, sturdy boxes painted in bright orange hues are tucked away in aircraft fuselage. Those boxes, better known as black boxes, record data during flights without interruption and hold crucial information in plane crashes like the fatal accident of an Air India aircraft on Thursday afternoon (June 12, 2025). Air India Ahmedabad plane crash: Updates In modern aircraft, there are Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR). Generally, they are called black boxes even though they are painted with bright orange colour to ensure high visibility. In some aircraft, the two recorders are integrated. In April 2025, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau set up a flight recorders laboratory at its premises in the national capital for carrying out more effective probes into accidents. DFDRs are coated with bright orange colour, treated with reflex material for high visibility and securely connected with automatically activated signalisation for localisation underwater, according to the agency. Under the Civil Aviation Ministry, the AAIB carries out detailed investigations into accidents and also suggests measures to improve safety. The crash of Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick soon after take-off on Thursday (June 12, 2025) is being probed by AAIB. The development of flight data recorders evolved over a period of time. It started with the use of metal foils for recording data, and later, they were replaced with magnetic tapes. At present, solid-state chips are used in the flight data recorders. Flight recorders history 1950: The first generation of Flight Data Recorders (FDRs) emerged with metal foil as the recording medium. 1953: General Mills sold the first FDR to Lockheed Aircraft Company, enclosed in a yellow-painted spherical shell. 1954: Australia's David Ronald de Mey Warren invented the world's first FDR while probing an air crash. In 1953, Warren, a jet fuel expert, was working as part of a special team analysing mysterious mid-air explosions experienced by the world's first commercial jet aircraft, the de Havilland Comet. Subsequently, he invented the FDR so that the recordings would be helpful in the analysis of aircraft accidents. 1960: FDRs and CVRs are made mandatory for aircraft. 1965: FDRs were required to be painted bright orange or yellow to locate them easily at crash sites. 1990: Solid-state memory devices replaced magnetic tapes in FDRs. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), audio recordings from cockpit voice recorders supplement flight data by providing related details on flight crew responses. The recordings also aid in assessments of how radio communications or other outside distractions may have been a factor in an accident. Their data has assisted investigators' understanding of how aircraft perform, both before and during an accident or incident, and provided useful information for airline flight data analysis programmes, as per ICAO.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Flight data recorders hold key to aircraft crash investigations
New Delhi/ Mumbai, As thousands of commercial flights take to the skies daily, sturdy boxes painted in bright orange hues are tucked away in aircraft fuselage. Those boxes, better known as black boxes, record data during flights without interruption and hold crucial information in plane crashes like the fatal accident of an Air India aircraft on Thursday afternoon. In modern aircraft, there are Cockpit Voice Recorder and Digital Flight Data Recorder . Generally, they are called black boxes even though they are painted with bright orange colour to ensure high visibility. In some aircraft, the two recorders are integrated. Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau In April 2025, AAIB set up a flight recorders laboratory at its premises in the national capital for carrying out more effective probes into accidents. DFDRs are coated with bright orange colour, treated with reflex material for high visibility and securely connected with automatically activated signalisation for localisation underwater, according to the agency. Under the civil aviation ministry, AAIB carries out detailed investigations into accidents and also suggests measures to improve safety. The crash of Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick soon after take-off on Thursday is being probed by AAIB. Flight recorders trajector The development of flight data recorders evolved over a period of time. It started with the use of metal foils for recording data, and later, they were replaced with magnetic tapes. At present, solid-state chips are used in the flight data recorders. Flight recorders history 1950 The first generation of Flight Data Recorders emerged with metal foil as the recording medium. 1953 General Mills sold the first FDR to Lockheed Aircraft Company, enclosed in a yellow-painted spherical shell. 1954 Australia's David Ronald de Mey Warren invented the world's first FDR while probing an air crash. In 1953, Warren, a jet fuel expert, was working as part of a special team analysing mysterious mid-air explosions experienced by the world's first commercial jet aircraft, the de Havilland Comet. Subsequently, he invented the FDR so that the recordings would be helpful in the analysis of aircraft accidents. 1960 FDRs and CVRs are made mandatory for aircraft. 1965 FDRs were required to be painted bright orange or yellow to locate them easily at crash sites. 1990 Solid-state memory devices replaced magnetic tapes in FDRs According to the International Civil Aviation Organization , audio recordings from cockpit voice recorders supplement flight data by providing related details on flight crew responses. The recordings also aid in assessments of how radio communications or other outside distractions may have been a factor in an accident. Their data has assisted investigators' understanding of how aircraft perform, both before and during an accident or incident, and provided useful information for airline flight data analysis programmes, as per ICAO.
Mint
2 days ago
- Science
- Mint
Air India Crash: What is a black box? How does it aid the investigation?
Air India Crash: The authorities have found one of the two black boxes that will help in revealing what triggered the tragic crash of the Air India plane that killed over 240 people on 12 June. The Black Box in the rear of the aircraft has been located and safely guarded, according to a report in Hindustan Times. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will collect the equipment to analyse the recordings. The second black box, in the aircraft's front portion, is yet to be found, a source told Hindustan Times A black box is a small machine that records information about an aircraft during its flight. It is basically a flight recorder, with origins in the early 1950s. This bright orange or yellow rectangular box is crafted to withstand explosions, fire, water pressure, and high-speed crashes. Invented by Australian scientist David Ronald de Mey Warren, the box is useful in revealing the cause of a plane crashes. The black box has two recorders, a cockpit voice recorder for pilot voices and cockpit sounds, and a separate flight data recorder. The Black Box is made of strong substances such as steel or titanium. It is insulated from factors such as extreme heat and cold. The Black Boxes are on purpose placed towards the tail end of the aircraft, where the impact of a crash is usually the least. The two black boxes of any aircraft are the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR). These two basically record the information about a flight and help reconstruct the events leading to an aircraft crash. The CVR records radio transmissions and other cockpit sounds, including conversations between pilots and engine noises. The FDR records more than 80 different types of information, such as altitude, airspeed, flight heading, vertical acceleration, pitch, roll, autopilot status, etc. Usually, it takes 10-15 days to analyse the data recovered from the black boxes after a crash. The black box is an important tool to know what led to the tragic Air India plane crash moments after take-off from Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon. It basically will reveal the underlying reason or responses of the MAYDAY call, or any warnings received by the aircraft. The Air India B787 Aircraft gave a MAYDAY call to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) immediately after take-off. It, however, did not respond after that to calls made by the ATC to the aircraft, according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). So the last communication from the crew of the ill-fated plane was 'MAYDAY, MAYDAY…' followed by radio silence. A black box comprises four main parts, including, -An interface designed to fix the device and facilitate recording and playback -An underwater locator beacon -A 'Crash Survivable Memory Unit' made of stainless steel or titanium, which is designed to withstand a force equivalent to 3,400 times the force of gravity -The recording chip on a circuit board. The investigation of the 2020 Kozhikode plane crash of the Air India Express Flight 1344 was dependent on the aircraft's black box recordings, which revealed that it was due to a pilot error. The 2015 Germanwings crash was another incident which was investigated using the plane's black box recordings. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Australian jet-fuel expert Dr David Ronald de Mey Warren was recruited to a special team in 1953 to analyse the mid-air explosions being experienced by the world's first commercial jet aircraft, the de Havilland Comet. The flight was launched for commercial operations in 1952, but saw major accidents in its initial years. The idea met with initial resistance, including from pilots who argued that the recorders would be used to spy on the crew. By 1956, Warren created a prototype, named the ARL Flight Memory Unit, which allowed the storage of up to four hours of voice and flight-instrument data. In 1963, after two fatal aviation accidents, Australia became the first country to make flight recorders a mandatory legal requirement. The last communication from the crew of the ill-fated plane was 'MAYDAY, MAYDAY…' followed by radio silence. According to the Airbus website, before Warren, French engineer François Hussenot began working on a data recorder in the 1930s. This equipment had sensors that would optically project around 10 parameters onto a photographic film. This film ran continuously in a box that was constructed to prevent any light from entering it, lending it the name 'black box.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- Indian Express
Ahmedabad plane crash: Why retrieving black boxes matters in aviation accidents
In what may be among the worst aviation disasters in India, an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner (VT-ANB) crashed soon after taking off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon (June 12), with 242 passengers onboard. The aircraft was bound for London, but could only ascend to less than 600 feet before crashing in the Meghani Nagar area of the city. Rescue operations are underway. The cause of the crash is unclear at this stage. However, as is usual in the aftermath of such incidents, the wreckage will be examined, and black boxes will be retrieved to piece together what happened. A black box is simply a flight recorder, with origins in the early 1950s. According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Australian jet-fuel expert Dr. David Ronald de Mey Warren was recruited to a special team in 1953 to analyse the mid-air explosions being experienced by the world's first commercial jet aircraft, the de Havilland Comet. It was launched for commercial operations in 1952, but saw major accidents in its initial years. For example, on May 2, 1953, BOAC Flight 783 departed Kolkata for Delhi, amidst severe rain and thunderstorms, with 43 passengers and crew members. 'Six minutes after takeoff, while climbing to 7,500 feet, the plane experienced an in-flight break-up and crashed, killing all on board,' the US Federal Aviation Administration website says. The UK's Imperial College's magazine once reported Warren saying, 'I had seen, at a trade fair, a gadget which fascinated me. It was the world's first miniature recorder to put in your pocket. I put the two ideas together. If a businessman had been using one of these in the plane and we could find it in the wreckage and we played it back, we'd say, 'We know what caused this'.' The idea initially drew resistance, including from pilots who worried the recorders would be used to spy on the crew. By 1956, however, Warren created a prototype, named the ARL Flight Memory Unit, which allowed the storage of up to four hours of voice and flight-instrument data. In 1963, following two fatal aviation disasters, Australia became the first country to make flight recorders a mandatory legal requirement, the magazine noted. In the initial days of the black box, the information was recorded onto a metal strip, which was then upgraded to magnetic drives, succeeded by solid-state memory chips. The Airbus website notes that even before Warren, French engineer François Hussenot began working on a data recorder in the 1930s. It was equipped with sensors that would optically project around 10 parameters onto a photographic film. This film ran continuously in a box that was constructed to prevent any light from entering it, lending it the name 'black box'. The name has endured, even as the outer box of the recorder has always been orange – a bright colour that makes it easier to identify the metal case. Most aircraft are required to be equipped with two black boxes — the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) — that record the information about a flight and help reconstruct the events leading to an aircraft accident. While the CVR records radio transmissions and other sounds in the cockpit, such as conversations between the pilots and engine noises, the flight data recorder records more than 80 different types of information, such as altitude, airspeed, flight heading, vertical acceleration, pitch, roll, autopilot status, etc. It usually takes at least 10-15 days to analyse the data recovered from the black boxes after a crash. The recording devices are stored inside a unit that is generally made out of strong substances such as steel or titanium and are also insulated from factors such as extreme heat, cold or wetness. To protect these black boxes, they are equipped towards the tail end of the aircraft, where the impact of a crash is usually the least. There have been cases where planes have crashed into water bodies. To make black boxes discoverable in situations where they are underwater, they are equipped with a beacon that sends out ultrasound signals for 30 days. However, in certain cases, like the Malaysian Airlines MH370 flight, the recorders weren't found.
