Latest news with #DavidWarren
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Connecticut Jewish leaders react to D.C. attack
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Jewish leaders in Connecticut are reacting to a deadly targeted attack in Washington, D.C., near the Capital Jewish Museum. Bethel man arrested, charged with sexual assault David Warren, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, says that now is a deeply painful moment that is 'unnerving.' Waren says the community is standing in solidarity with those affected by the 'heinous act of of antisemitic violence.' 'I think everybody feels vulnerable right now,' Waren said. 'This could have been our kids. This could have been us coming out of an event, and event with security.' Waren went on to say that when any community is targeted, we are all targeted. They are working with local police departments in the area to collaboratively set up security. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What do black boxes on planes actually record?
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In the mid-1950s, while investigating a series of mysterious crashes of the de Havilland Comet — the world's first commercial jet airliner — David Warren thought of a solution that would assist with all future airline investigations: a flight recorder. The idea was to have a record of the flight condition, such as the speed and altitude, and a tape that captured the pilot's reaction moments before an accident. Warren, then a 28-year-old scientist at the Aeronautical Research Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia, believed this tool should be placed in every aircraft. Although the idea didn't take off instantly, his innovation would later become a major milestone in the safety of modern aircraft. Since then, black boxes have aided in numerous aircraft accident investigations, including for commercial planes and helicopters. But what information do black boxes record? First, let's start with a primer on what a black box actually is. Flight recorders come with two separate components: a data recorder and a voice recorder. "The data recorder can oftentimes tell you what happened, but the voice recorders can tell you why it happened," David Esser, an aeronautical scientist at the Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida, told Live Science. Related: Can a commercial airplane do a barrel roll? The flight data recorder is located at the tail of the aircraft — an area that is most likely to survive a crash. But the voice recorder is placed inside the cockpit to record the pilots' conversation and other sounds that may hint at what went wrong moments before an accident. These recorders are each equipped with beacons that send acoustic signals to make them easier to find during an overwater accident. Their appearance also makes them easier to locate. Despite their nickname, flight recorders are not actually black boxes. "They're orange — on purpose, so that they stand out clearly in a crash scene," Esser said. The term "black box" was likely borrowed from the field of computing, in which a system has an input and output with an internal mechanism that is often not widely understood by a layperson, Esser said. These recorders are built to withstand extreme conditions such as high impact, fire and deep-sea pressure, said Abdalla Elazaly, an advanced system engineer at Honeywell, which supplies these recorders to aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus. "Engineers use robust materials like titanium or stainless steel for the casing," Elazaly told Live Science in an email. However, certain situations could lead the systems to fail. Such scenarios include a total loss of power in the airplane, prolonged exposure to fire or a deep water environment, and high-speed crashes, he said. Some data recorders can retain at least 88 parameters of a flight operation, including the time, altitude and airspeed continuously for 25 hours, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). In addition, they record more than 1,000 data points inside the aircraft that could help with investigations. For example, it records if and when the smoke alarm was triggered, the airplane flap positions, and when it engaged in autopilot. On the other hand, the cockpit voice recorder picks up sounds such as engine noise, landing gear movements, flicks of the switches, and other alerts inside the cockpit. The recorder is usually connected to an overhead microphone that sits between the two pilots. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires commercial aircraft to have voice recorders with at least 25 hours of nonstop recording capacity. In the event of an aircraft accident, the flight recorders provide key information that can determine the cause of an accident. Only members of the accident investigation — such as the NTSB, the FAA and other relevant authorities — can access the material. The process, "is like a crime investigation," Houbing Song, an electrical engineer at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who helped develop flight recorder systems for the FAA, told Live Science. Unlike earlier designs that used magnetic tape, information in modern flight recorders is stored in a solid-state memory card, like the ones used in laptops and mobile phones. The first step in the recovery process involves ensuring that the memory card is intact and making a copy of the information, Song said. The investigation could take a month or years to complete, depending on the nature of the accident, he said. Besides accident investigations, flight recorders provide valuable safety information for airlines during normal operations. Several commercial airlines collaborate with the FAA on a voluntary program, called Flight Operational Quality Assurance, that allows airlines to download part of the flight recorders' data for quality control. For instance, the FAA might check for fuel usage, potential engine issues, or other operational inefficiencies. RELATED MYSTERIES —How long does it take to travel to the moon? —If humans could fly, how big would our wings be? —What's the fastest recorded wind speed? "The idea is to identify a trend before it becomes an incident or an accident," Esser said. Although flight recorders hold valuable information, they can only be accessed post-flight. This limitation could become problematic in cases where the recorders are damaged or cannot be recovered. Several initiatives are now looking at innovations that allow real-time data transmission from the flight recorders that can help overcome this limitation. "The technology is there now; it's just a question of implementation," Esser said.
Khaleej Times
31-01-2025
- Science
- Khaleej Times
American Airlines plane crash: How black boxes hold vital clues to air disasters
Investigators have recovered the so-called black boxes from an American Airlines Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet, which collided with a US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday, killing 67 people. Lead investigator Brice Banning said on Thursday that the helicopter also contained "some form of recording devices" that would be read either by the National Transportation Safety Board or by the Defence Department under existing agreements. What are black boxes? They are not actually black but high-visibility orange. Experts disagree how the nickname originated but it has become synonymous with the quest for answers when planes crash. Many historians attribute their invention to Australian scientist David Warren in the 1950s. Earliest devices recorded limited data on wire or foil. Later devices switched to magnetic tape. Modern ones use computer chips inside hard casings. There are two recorders: a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) for pilot voices or cockpit sounds, and a separate Flight Data Recorder (FDR). Some devices combine both functions. What is their role? They are mandatory on civil flights and the aim is to preserve clues from cockpit sounds and data to help prevent future accidents, but not to determine wrongdoing or liability. In broad terms, investigators say the FDR helps them analyse what happened and the CVR can - though not always - start to explain why. But experts caution that no two probes are the same and virtually all accidents involve multiple factors. The disappearance in 2014 of Malaysian Airlines MH370 triggered debate about whether data should be streamed instead. How big are they? They weigh about 10 pounds (4.5 kilos) and contain four main parts: a chassis or interface designed to fix the device and facilitate recording and playback an underwater locator beacon the core housing or 'Crash Survivable Memory Unit' made of stainless steel or titanium able to withstand a force equivalent to 3,400 times the feeling of gravity. the recording chip on a circuit board. How are recorders handled? After contact with water, they must first be thoroughly dried and the connections cleaned to ensure data is not erased accidentally. Audio and data files are downloaded and copied. The data itself means little at first. It must be decoded from raw files before being turned into graphs and synchronised with other data, like air traffic control transmissions. Lab experts sometimes use "spectral analysis," a way of deciphering fleeting sounds or barely audible alarms. How much information is available? FDRs must record at least 88 essential parameters but modern systems can typically track 1,000 or more additional signals. The CVR usually contains two hours of recordings on a loop and this is being extended to 25 hours. Implementing such regulatory changes can take years, a delay highlighted by the crash last month of a Jeju Air Boeing 737. The recorders in that accident, in which 179 people died, did not capture the last four minutes of flight, officials say. A spate of accidents in the 1990s in which recorders had stopped working when power was lost led the NTSB to recommend enough backup power to provide 10 minutes of extra recording. The change was finally adopted for new planes delivered from 2010, but only came into effect eight months after the 737-800 involved in the Jeju crash left the Boeing factory, according to aircraft data on Flightradar24.
The Independent
31-01-2025
- General
- The Independent
Investigators recover DC plane crash ‘black boxes.' What are the devices that help investigators unlock the cause of a disaster?
Investigators are working to retrieve the remnants of the two aircraft involved in a crash in Washington DC that killed 67 people and raised questions about air safety. The black boxes have been recovered from the American Airlines Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet, which collided with a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday, killing 67 people. Lead investigator Brice Banning said the helicopter also contained 'some form of recording devices' that would be read either by the National Transportation Safety Board or by the Defense Department under existing agreements. What are black boxes? The name is a misnomer; they are not actually black but high-visibility orange. Experts disagree how the nickname originated but it has become synonymous with the quest for answers when planes crash. Many historians attribute their invention to Australian scientist David Warren in the 1950s. Earliest devices recorded limited data on wire or foil. Later devices switched to magnetic tape. Modern ones use computer chips inside hard casings. There are two recorders: a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) for pilot voices or cockpit sounds, and a separate Flight Data Recorder (FDR). Some devices combine both functions. They are mandatory on civil flights and the aim is to preserve clues from cockpit sounds and data to help prevent future accidents, but not to determine wrongdoing or liability. In broad terms, investigators say the FDR helps them analyse what happened and the CVR can - though not always - start to explain why. But experts caution that no two probes are the same and virtually all accidents involve multiple factors. The disappearance in 2014 of Malaysian Airlines MH370 triggered debate about whether data should be streamed instead. How big are black boxes on planes? They weigh about 10 pounds (4.5 kilos) and contain four main parts: A chassis or interface designed to fix the device and facilitate recording and playback An underwater locator beacon The core housing or 'Crash Survivable Memory Unit' made of stainless steel or titanium able to withstand a force equivalent to 3,400 times the feeling of gravity. The recording chip on a circuit board. After contact with water, they must first be thoroughly dried and the connections cleaned to ensure data is not erased accidentally. Audio and data files are downloaded and copied. Updates Latest from The Independent's live blog as of 1pm GMT, 31 January The data itself means little at first. It must be decoded from raw files before being turned into graphs and synchronised with other data, like air traffic control transmissions. Lab experts sometimes use 'spectral analysis,' a way of deciphering fleeting sounds or barely audible alarms. FDRs must record at least 88 essential parameters but modern systems can typically track 1,000 or more additional signals. The CVR usually contains two hours of recordings on a loop and this is being extended to 25 hours. Implementing such regulatory changes can take years, a delay highlighted by the crash last month of a Jeju Air Boeing 737. The recorders in that accident, in which 179 people died, did not capture the last four minutes of flight, officials say. A spate of accidents in the 1990s in which recorders had stopped working when power was lost led the NTSB to recommend enough backup power to provide 10 minutes of extra recording. The change was finally adopted for new planes delivered from 2010, but only came into effect eight months after the 737-800 involved in the Jeju crash left the Boeing factory, according to aircraft data on Flightradar24.
The Independent
31-01-2025
- The Independent
Washington DC plane crash: How do black boxes work?
Investigators plan to push forward on Friday with efforts to retrieve the two aircraft involved in a crash in Washington that killed 67 people and raised questions about air safety in the U.S. capital. Fresh from recovering the so-called black boxes from the American Airlines plane that crashed into the Potomac River after colliding with an Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday, divers aim to 'salvage the aircraft' and find additional components on Friday, Washington's fire department said. 'Overnight, boats will remain on scene for security and surface searches from local, state, and federal regional partners,' it said. The black boxes have been recovered from the American Airlines Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet, which collided with a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River on Wednesday, killing 67 people. Lead investigator Brice Banning said on Thursday that the helicopter also contained 'some form of recording devices' that would be read either by the National Transportation Safety Board or by the Defense Department under existing agreements. They are not actually black but high-visibility orange. Experts disagree how the nickname originated but it has become synonymous with the quest for answers when planes crash. Many historians attribute their invention to Australian scientist David Warren in the 1950s. Earliest devices recorded limited data on wire or foil. Later devices switched to magnetic tape. Modern ones use computer chips inside hard casings. There are two recorders: a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) for pilot voices or cockpit sounds, and a separate Flight Data Recorder (FDR). Some devices combine both functions. They are mandatory on civil flights and the aim is to preserve clues from cockpit sounds and data to help prevent future accidents, but not to determine wrongdoing or liability. In broad terms, investigators say the FDR helps them analyse what happened and the CVR can - though not always - start to explain why. But experts caution that no two probes are the same and virtually all accidents involve multiple factors. The disappearance in 2014 of Malaysian Airlines MH370 triggered debate about whether data should be streamed instead. How big are black boxes on planes? They weigh about 10 pounds (4.5 kilos) and contain four main parts: A chassis or interface designed to fix the device and facilitate recording and playback An underwater locator beacon The core housing or 'Crash Survivable Memory Unit' made of stainless steel or titanium able to withstand a force equivalent to 3,400 times the feeling of gravity. The recording chip on a circuit board. After contact with water, they must first be thoroughly dried and the connections cleaned to ensure data is not erased accidentally. Audio and data files are downloaded and copied. Updates Latest from The Independent's live blog as of 1pm GMT, 31 January The data itself means little at first. It must be decoded from raw files before being turned into graphs and synchronised with other data, like air traffic control transmissions. Lab experts sometimes use 'spectral analysis,' a way of deciphering fleeting sounds or barely audible alarms. FDRs must record at least 88 essential parameters but modern systems can typically track 1,000 or more additional signals. The CVR usually contains two hours of recordings on a loop and this is being extended to 25 hours. Implementing such regulatory changes can take years, a delay highlighted by the crash last month of a Jeju Air Boeing 737. The recorders in that accident, in which 179 people died, did not capture the last four minutes of flight, officials say. A spate of accidents in the 1990s in which recorders had stopped working when power was lost led the NTSB to recommend enough backup power to provide 10 minutes of extra recording. The change was finally adopted for new planes delivered from 2010, but only came into effect eight months after the 737-800 involved in the Jeju crash left the Boeing factory, according to aircraft data on Flightradar24.
