Jump to content

Flight recorder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromCockpit voice recorder)

A modern flight data recorder; theunderwater locator beaconis the small cylinder on the far right. (Translation of warning message in French: "Flight recorder do not open".) The warning appears in English on the other side.
Cold War-eraSovietMS-61 cockpit voice recorder from aMiG-21 interceptor

Aflight recorderis an electronic recording device placed in anaircraftfor the purpose of facilitating the investigation ofaviation accidents and incidents.The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box",an outdated name which has become amisnomer—they are now required to be paintedbright orange,to aid in their recovery after accidents.

There are two types of flight recording devices: theflight data recorder(FDR) preserves the recent history of the flight through the recording of dozens of parameters collected several times per second; thecockpit voice recorder(CVR) preserves the recent history of the sounds in the cockpit, including the conversation of the pilots. The two devices may be combined into a single unit. Together, the FDR and CVR objectively document the aircraft's flight history, which may assist in any later investigation.

The two flight recorders are required by international regulation, overseen by theInternational Civil Aviation Organization,to be capable of surviving the conditions likely to be encountered in a severe aircraft accident. For this reason, they are typically specified to withstand an impact of 3400gand temperatures of over 1,000 °C (1,830 °F), as required byEUROCAEED-112. They have been a mandatory requirement in commercial aircraft in the United States since 1967. After the unexplained disappearance ofMalaysia Airlines Flight 370in 2014, commentators have called for live streaming of data to the ground, as well as extending the battery life of the underwater locator beacons.

History[edit]

A Fairchild A100 cockpit voice recorder, on display in theDeutsches Museum.This is a magnetic-tape unit built to an old standard,TSOC84, as shown on the nameplate. The text on the side in French says "Flight recorder do not open".

Early designs[edit]

One of the earliest and proven attempts was made byFrançois Hussenotand Paul Beaudouin in 1939 at theMarignaneflight test center, France, with their "type HB" flight recorder; they were essentially photograph-based flight recorders, because the record was made on a scrollingphotographic film8 metres (8.7 yd) long by 88 millimetres (3.5 in) wide. Thelatent imagewas made by a thin ray of light deviated by a mirror tilted according to the magnitude of the data to be recorded (altitude, speed, etc.).[1]A pre-production run of 25 "HB" recorders was ordered in 1941 and HB recorders remained in use in French flight test centers well into the 1970s.[2][3]

In 1947, Hussenot founded the Société Française des Instruments de Mesure with Beaudouin and another associate, so as to market his invention, which was also known as the "hussenograph". This company went on to become a major supplier of data recorders, used not only aboard aircraft but also trains and other vehicles. SFIM is today part of theSafrangroup and is still present in the flight recorder market. The advantage of the film technology was that it could be easily developed afterwards and provides a durable, visual feedback of the flight parameters without needing any playback device. On the other hand, unlike magnetic tapes or later flash memory-based technology, a photographic film cannot be erased and reused, and so must be changed periodically. The technology was reserved for one-shot uses, mostly during planned test flights: it was not mounted aboard civilian aircraft during routine commercial flights. Also, cockpit conversation was not recorded.

Another form of flight data recorder was developed in the UK during World War II. Len Harrison and Vic Husband developed a unit that could withstand a crash and fire to keep the flight data intact. The unit was the forerunner of today's recorders, in being able to withstand conditions that aircrew could not. It used copper foil as the recording medium, with various styli, corresponding to various instruments or aircraft controls, indenting the foil. The foil was periodically advanced at set time intervals, giving a history of the aircraft's instrument readings and control settings. The unit was developed atFarnboroughfor theMinistry of Aircraft Production.At the war's end the Ministry got Harrison and Husband to sign over their invention to it and the Ministry patented it under British patent 19330/45.

"Mata-Hari" flight data recorder

The first modern flight data recorder, called "Mata-Hari", was created in 1942 by Finnish aviation engineer Veijo Hietala. This black high-tech mechanical box was able to record all required data during test flights offighter aircraftthat theFinnish Air Forcerepaired or built in its mainaviation factoryinTampere,Finland.[4]

During World War II both British and American air forces successfully experimented with aircraft voice recorders.[5]In August 1943 theUSAAFconducted an experiment with amagnetic wire recorderto capture the inter-phone conversations of a B-17 bomber flight crew on a combat mission over Nazi-occupied France.[6]The recording was broadcast back to the United States by radio two days afterwards.

Australian designs[edit]

Video clip of 1985ABCnews report interviewing David Warren about his invention

In 1953, while working at the Aeronautical Research Laboratories (ARL) of theDefence Science and Technology OrganisationinMelbourne,[7]Australian research scientistDavid Warrenconceived a device that would record not only the instrument readings, but also the voices in the cockpit.[8]In 1954 he published a report entitled "A Device for Assisting Investigation into Aircraft Accidents".[9]

Warren built aprototypeFDR called "The ARL Flight Memory Unit" in 1956,[9]and in 1958 he built the first combined FDR/CVR prototype.[8][10]It was designed with civilian aircraft in mind, explicitly for post-crash examination purposes.[11]Aviation authorities from around the world were largely uninterested at first, but this changed in 1958 when Sir Robert Hardingham, thesecretaryof theBritish Air Registration Board,visited the ARL and was introduced to David Warren.[7]Hardingham realized the significance of the invention and arranged for Warren to demonstrate the prototype in the UK.[9]

The ARL assigned an engineering team to help Warren develop the prototype to the airborne stage. The team, consisting of electronics engineers Lane Sear, Wally Boswell, and Ken Fraser; developed a working design that incorporated a fire-resistant and shockproof case, a reliable system for encoding and recording aircraft instrument readings and voice on one wire, and a ground-based decoding device. The ARL system, made by the British firm of S. Davall & Sons Ltd, inMiddlesex,was named the "Red Egg" because of its shape and bright-red color.[9]

The units were redesigned in 1965 and relocated at the rear of aircraft to increase the probability of successful data retrieval after a crash.[12]

Carriage of data recording equipment became mandatory in UK-registered aircraft in two phases; the first, for new turbine-engined public transport category aircraft over 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) in weight, was mandated in 1965, with a further requirement in 1966 for piston-engined transports over 60,000 lb (27,000 kg), with the earlier requirement further extended to all jet transports. One of the first UK uses of the data recovered from an aircraft accident was that recovered from the Royston "Midas" data recorder that was on board theBritish MidlandArgonautinvolved in theStockport Air Disasterin 1967.[13]

American designs[edit]

NTSB investigators recover flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder fromUPS Airlines Flight 1354
NTSB staff examine the memory boards of the cockpit voice recorder fromAtlas Air Flight 3591.The boards may have suffered water damage

A flight recorder was invented and patented in the United States by Professor James J. "Crash" Ryan, a professor of mechanical engineering at theUniversity of Minnesotafrom 1931 to 1963. Ryan's "Flight Recorder" patent was filed in August 1953 and approved on November 8, 1960, as US Patent 2,959,459.[14]A second patent by Ryan for a "Coding Apparatus For Flight Recorders and the Like" is US Patent 3,075,192[15]dated January 22, 1963. An early prototype of the Ryan Flight Data Recorder is described in the January 2013Aviation Historyarticle "Father of the Black Box" by Scott M. Fisher.[16]

Ryan, also the inventor of the retractable safetyseat beltnow required in automobiles, began working on the idea of a flight recorder in 1946, and invented the device in response to a 1948 request from theCivil Aeronautics Boardaimed at establishing operating procedures to reduce air mishaps. The requirement was for a means of accumulating flight data. The original device was known as the "General Mills Flight Recorder".

The benefits of the flight recorder and the coding apparatus for flight recorders were outlined by Ryan in his study entitled "Economies in Airline Operation with Flight Recorders" which was entered into theCongressional Recordin 1956. Ryan's flight recorder maintained a continuing recording of aircraft flight data such as engine exhaust temperature, fuel flow, aircraft velocity, altitude, control surfaces positions, and rate of descent.

A "Cockpit Sound Recorder" (CSR) was independently invented and patented by Edmund A. Boniface Jr., an aeronautical engineer atLockheed Aircraft Corporation.[17][18][19]He originally filed with the US Patent Office on February 2, 1961, as an "Aircraft Cockpit Sound Recorder".[20]The 1961 invention was viewed by some as an "invasion of privacy". Subsequently Boniface filed again on February 4, 1963, for a "Cockpit Sound Recorder" (US Patent 3,327,067)[17]with the addition of a spring-loaded switch which allowed the pilot to erase the audio/sound tape recording at the conclusion of a safe flight and landing.

Boniface's participation in aircraft crash investigations in the 1940s[21]and in the accident investigations of the loss of one of the wings at cruise altitude on each of twoLockheed Electraturboprop powered aircraft (Flight 542 operated byBraniff Airlinesin 1959 and Flight 710 operated byNorthwest Orient Airlinesin 1961) led to his wondering what the pilots may have said just prior to the wing loss and during the descent as well as the type and nature of any sounds or explosions that may have preceded or occurred during the wing loss.[22]

His patent was for a device for recording audio of pilot remarks and engine or other sounds to be "contained with the in-flight recorder within a sealed container that is shock mounted, fireproofed and made watertight" and "sealed in such a manner as to be capable of withstanding extreme temperatures during a crash fire". The CSR was an analog device which provided a continuous erasing/recording loop (lasting 30 or more minutes) of all sounds (explosion, voice, and the noise of any aircraft structural components undergoing serious fracture and breakage) which could be overheard in the cockpit.[22]

On November 1, 1966, Bobbie R. Allen - director of Bureau of Safety, Civil Aeronautics Board and John S. Leak - chief of Technical Services Section, presented "The Potential Role of Flight Recorders in Aircraft Accident Investigation" at the AIAA/CASI Joint Meeting on Aviation Safety,Toronto,Canada.[23]

Terminology[edit]

GEEairborne equipment, with the R1355 receiver on the left and the Indicator Unit Type 62A "black box" on the right.

The term "black box" was a World War II British phrase, originating with the development of radio, radar, and electronic navigational aids in British and Allied combat aircraft. These often-secret electronic devices were encased in non-reflective black boxes or housings. The earliest identified reference to "black boxes" occurs in a May 1945Flightarticle, "Radar for Airlines", describing the application of wartime RAF radar and navigational aids to civilian aircraft: "The stowage of the 'black boxes' and, even more important, the detrimental effect on performance of external aerials, still remain as a radio and radar problem."[24](The term "black box"is used with a different meaning in science and engineering, describing a system exclusively by its inputs and outputs, with no information whatsoever about its inner workings.)

Magnetic tape and wire voice recorders had been tested onRAFandUSAAFbombers by 1943 thus adding to the assemblage of fielded and experimental electronic devices employed on Allied aircraft. As early as 1944 aviation writers envisioned use of these recording devices on commercial aircraft to aid incident investigations.[25]When modern flight recorders were proposed to the BritishAeronautical Research Councilin 1958, the term "black box" was in colloquial use by experts.[26]

By 1967, when flight recorders were mandated by leading aviation countries, the expression had found its way into general use: "These so-called 'black boxes' are, in fact, of fluorescent flame-orange in colour."[27]The formal names of the devices areflight data recorderandcockpit voice recorder.The recorders must be housed in boxes that are bright orange in color to make them more visually conspicuous in the debris after an accident.[28]

Components[edit]

Flight data recorder[edit]

"Flight data recorder" redirects here. For the song by +/-, seeXs on Your Eyes.
A typical flight recorder
Cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, each with anunderwater locator beaconon the front
Anunderwater locator beacon;theballpoint penprovides scale
A cockpit voice and data recorder (CVDR), with its attached ULB visible on the left side of the unit
A flight data recorder and a cockpit voice recorder installed on their mounting trays in the rear fuselage of an aircraft
The flight data recorder for crashed flightMU5735.

A flight data recorder (FDR; also ADR, foraccident data recorder) is an electronic device employed to record instructions sent to any electronic systems on an aircraft.

The data recorded by the FDR are used foraccident and incidentinvestigation. Due to their importance in investigating accidents, theseICAO-regulated devices are carefully engineered and constructed to withstand the force of a high speed impact and the heat of an intense fire. Contrary to the popular term "black box", the exterior of the FDR is coated with heat-resistantbright orangepaint for high visibility in wreckage, and the unit is usually mounted in the aircraft'stail section,where it is more likely to survive a crash. Following an accident, the recovery of the FDR is usually a high priority for the investigating body, as analysis of the recorded parameters can often detect and identify causes or contributing factors.[29]

Modern day FDRs receive inputs via specific data frames from theflight-data acquisition units.They record significantflightparameters, including the control andactuatorpositions, engine information andtime of day.There are 88 parameters required as a minimum under current US federal regulations (only 29 were required until 2002), but some systems monitor many more variables. Generally each parameter is recorded a few times persecond,though some units store "bursts" of data at a much higherfrequencyif the data begin to change quickly. Most FDRs record approximately 17–25 hours of data in a continuous loop.[citation needed]It is required by regulations that an FDR verification check (readout) is performed annually in order to verify that all mandatory parameters are recorded.[citation needed]Many aircraft today are equipped with an "event" button in the cockpit that could be activated by the crew if an abnormality occurs in flight. Pushing the button places a signal on the recording, marking the time of the event.[30]

Modern FDRs are typically double wrapped in strongcorrosion-resistantstainless steelortitanium,with high-temperatureinsulationinside. Modern FDRs are accompanied by anunderwater locator beaconthat emits an ultrasonic "ping" to aid in detection when submerged. These beacons operate for up to 30 days and are able to operate while immersed to a depth of up to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft).[31][32]

Cockpit voice recorder[edit]

Both side views of a cockpit voice recorder, one type of flight recorder

A cockpit voice recorder (CVR) is a flight recorder used to record the audio environment in theflight deckof anaircraftfor the purpose of investigation of accidents and incidents. This is typically achieved by recording the signals of the microphones and earphones of the pilots' headsets and of an area microphone in the roof of the cockpit. The current applicableFAATSOis C123b titled Cockpit Voice Recorder Equipment.[33]

Where an aircraft is required to carry a CVR and uses digital communications the CVR is required to record such communications with air traffic control unless this is recorded elsewhere. As of 2008it is an FAA requirement that the recording duration is a minimum of two hours.[34]TheEuropean Aviation Safety Agencyincreased the recording duration to 25 hours in 2021.[35]In 2023, the FAA proposed extending requirements to 25 hours to help in investigations like runway incursions.[36][37]In a January 2024 press conference onAlaska Airlines Flight 1282,National Transportation Safety Board(NTSB) chair Jennifer Homendy again called for extending retention to 25 hours, rather than the currently-mandated 2 hours, on all existing devices, rather than only newly manufactured ones.[38]

A standard CVR is capable of recording four channels of audio data for a period of two hours. The original requirement was for a CVR to record for 30 minutes, but this has been found to be insufficient in many cases because significant parts of the audio data needed for a subsequent investigation occurred more than 30 minutes before the end of the recording.[39]

The earliest CVRs used analogwire recording,later replaced by analogmagnetic tape.Some of the tape units used two reels, with the tape automatically reversing at each end. The original was the ARL Flight Memory Unit produced in 1957 byAustralianDavid Warrenand instrument makerTych Mirfield.[40][41]

Other units used a single reel, with the tape spliced into a continuous loop, much as in an8-track cartridge.The tape would circulate and old audio information would be overwritten every 30 minutes. Recovery of sound from magnetic tape often proves difficult if the recorder is recovered from water and its housing has been breached. Thus, the latest designs employsolid-state memoryand use fault tolerantdigital recordingtechniques, making them much more resistant to shock, vibration and moisture. With the reduced power requirements of solid-state recorders, it is now practical to incorporate a battery in the units, so that recording can continue until flight termination, even if the aircraft electrical system fails.

Like the FDR, the CVR is typically mounted in the rear of the airplanefuselageto maximize the likelihood of its survival in a crash.[42]

Combined units[edit]

With the advent of digital recorders, the FDR and CVR can be manufactured in one fireproof, shock proof, and waterproof container as a combined digital cockpit voice and data recorder (CVDR). Currently, CVDRs are manufactured byL3Harris Technologies[43]andHensoldt[44]among others.

Solid state recorders became commercially practical in 1990, having the advantage of not requiring scheduled maintenance and making the data easier to retrieve. This was extended to the two-hour voice recording in 1995.[45]

Additional equipment[edit]

Since the 1970s, most large civil jet transports have been additionally equipped with a "quick access recorder"(QAR). This records data on a removable storage medium. Access to the FDR and CVR is necessarily difficult because they must be fitted where they are most likely to survive an accident; they also require specialized equipment to read the recording. The QAR recording medium is readily removable and is designed to be read by equipment attached to a standard desktop computer. In many airlines, the quick access recordings are scanned for" events ", an event being a significant deviation from normal operational parameters. This allows operational problems to be detected and eliminated before an accident or incident results.

A flight-data acquisition unit (FDAU) is a unit that receives various discrete, analog and digital parameters from a number of sensors andavionicsystems and then routes them to the FDR and, if installed, to the QAR. Information from the FDAU to the FDR is sent via specific data frames, which depend on the aircraft manufacturer.

Many modern aircraft systems aredigital or digitally controlled.Very often, the digital system will includebuilt-in test equipmentwhich records information about the operation of the system. This information may also be accessed to assist with the investigation of an accident or incident.

Specifications[edit]

Cockpit voice recorder memory module of PR-GTD, aGol Transportes Aéreos Boeing 737-8EH SFP,found in theAmazoninMato Grosso,Brazil.
After the crash ofGol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907,Brazilian Air Forcepersonnel show the recovered flight data recorder

The design of today's FDR is governed by the internationally recognized standards and recommended practices relating to flight recorders which are contained inICAOAnnex 6 which makes reference to industrycrashworthinessandfire protectionspecifications such as those to be found in the European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment[46]documents EUROCAE ED55, ED56 Fiken A and ED112 (Minimum Operational Performance Specification for Crash Protected Airborne Recorder Systems). In the United States, theFederal Aviation Administration(FAA) regulates all aspects of US aviation, and citesdesignrequirementsin their Technical Standard Order,[47]based on the EUROCAE documents (as do the aviation authorities of many other countries).

Currently, EUROCAE specifies that a recorder must be able to withstand an acceleration of 3400g(33 km/s2) for 6.5milliseconds.This is roughly equivalent to animpactvelocityof 270 knots (310 mph; 500 km/h) and adecelerationor crushing distance of 45 cm (18 in).[48]Additionally, there arerequirementsfor penetration resistance,staticcrush, high and low temperaturefires,deep seapressure,sea waterimmersion, andfluidimmersion.

EUROCAE ED-112 (Minimum Operational Performance Specification for Crash Protected Airborne Recorder Systems) defines the minimum specification to be met for all aircraft requiring flight recorders for recording of flight data, cockpit audio, images and CNS / ATM digital messages and used for investigations of accidents or incidents.[49]When issued in March 2003, ED-112 superseded previous ED-55 and ED-56A that were separate specifications for FDR and CVR.FAATSOsfor FDR and CVR reference ED-112 for characteristics common to both types.

In order to facilitate recovery of the recorder from an aircraft accident site, they are required to be coloured bright yellow or orange with reflective surfaces. All are lettered "Flight recorder do not open" on one side in English and "Enregistreur de vol ne pas ouvrir"in French on the other side. To assist recovery from submerged sites they must be equipped with an underwater locator beacon which is automatically activated in the event of an accident.

Regulation[edit]

In the investigation of the 1960 crash ofTrans Australia Airlines Flight 538at Mackay,Queensland,the inquiry judge strongly recommended that flight recorders be installed in all Australian airliners. Australia became the first country in the world to make cockpit-voice recording compulsory.[50][51]

The digital flight data recorder fromWest Air Sweden Flight 294.All data was collected, even though the rest of the aircraft was heavily fragmented

The United States' first CVR rules were passed in 1964, requiring all turbine and piston aircraft with four or more engines to have CVRs by March 1, 1967.[52]As of 2008it is an FAA requirement that the CVR recording duration is a minimum of two hours,[34]following the NTSB recommendation that it should be increased from its previously-mandated 30-minute duration.[53]From 2014 the United States requires flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders on aircraft that have 20 or more passenger seats, or those that have six or more passenger seats, are turbine-powered, and require two pilots.[54]

For US air carriers and manufacturers, the NTSB is responsible for investigating accidents and safety-related incidents. The NTSB also serves in an advisory role for many international investigations not under its formal jurisdiction. The NTSB does not have regulatory authority, but must depend on legislation and other government agencies to act on its safety recommendations.[55]In addition, 49 USC Section 1114(c) prohibits the NTSB from making the audio recordings public except by written transcript.[56]

TheARINCStandards are prepared by the Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee (AEEC). The 700 Series of standards describe the form, fit, and function of avionics equipment installed predominately on transport category aircraft. The FDR is defined by ARINC Characteristic 747. The CVR is defined by ARINC Characteristic 757.[57]

Post incident overwriting of voice data by Nigerian crews led to a 2023 All Operators Letter reinforcing that practice is forbidden.[58][59]

Proposed requirements[edit]

Deployable recorders[edit]

The NTSB recommended in 1999 that operators be required to install two sets of CVDR systems, with the second CVDR designed to be ejected from the aircraft prior to impact with the ground or water. Ejection would be initiated by computer based on sensor information indicating an accident is imminent. A deployable recorder combines the cockpit voice/flight data recorders and an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) in a single unit. The unit would be designed to eject and float away from the aircraft and survive its descent to the ground, or float on water indefinitely. It would be equipped with satellite technology to aid in prompt recovery. Deployable CVDR technology has been used by the US Navy since 1993.[60]

While the recommendations would involve a massive, expensive retrofit program, government funding would meet cost objections from manufacturers and airlines. Operators would get both sets of recorders (including the currently-used fixed recorder) free of charge. The cost of the second deployable/ejectable CVDR (or black box) was estimated at US$30 million for installation in 500 new aircraft (about $60,000 per new commercial plane).[citation needed]

In the United States, the proposed SAFE Act calls for implementing the NTSB 1999 recommendations. However, so far the proposed legislation has failed to passCongress,having been introduced in 2003 (H.R. 2632), in 2005 (H.R. 3336), and in 2007 (H.R. 4336).[61]Originally the Safe Aviation Flight Enhancement (SAFE) Act of 2003[62]was introduced on June 26, 2003, by CongressmanDavid Price(D-NC) and CongressmanJohn Duncan(R-Tenn.) in a bipartisan effort to ensure investigators have access to information immediately following accidents totransport categoryaircraft.[60]

On July 19, 2005, a revised proposal for a SAFE Act was introduced and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the US House of Representatives. The bill was referred to the House Subcommittee on Aviation during the 108th, 109th, and 110th Congresses.[63][64][65]

After Malaysia Airlines Flight 370[edit]

In the United States, on March 12, 2014, in response to the missingMalaysia Airlines Flight 370,David Pricere-introduced the SAFE Act in the US House of Representatives.[66]

The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 demonstrated the limits of the contemporary flight recorder technology, namely how physical possession of the flight recorder device is necessary to help investigate the cause of an aircraft incident. Considering the advances of modern communication, technology commentators called for flight recorders to be supplemented or replaced by a system that provides "live streaming" of data from the aircraft to the ground.[67][68][69]Furthermore, commentators called for the underwater locator beacon's range and battery life to be extended, as well as the outfitting of civil aircraft with the deployable flight recorders typically used in military aircraft. Previous to MH370, the investigators of 2009Air France Flight 447urged that the battery life be extended as "rapidly as possible" after the crash's flight recorders went unrecovered for over a year.[70]

After Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501[edit]

On December 28, 2014,Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501,en route fromSurabaya,Indonesia, toSingapore,crashed in bad weather, killing all 155 passengers and seven crew on board.[71]

On January 8, 2015, before the recovery of the flight recorders, an anonymousICAOrepresentative said: "The time has come that deployable recorders are going to get a serious look."[72]A second ICAO official said that public attention had "galvanized momentum in favour of ejectable recorders on commercial aircraft".[72]

Boeing 737 MAX[edit]

Live flight data streaming as on theBoeing 777F ecoDemonstrator,plus 20 minutes of data before and after a triggering event, could have removed the uncertainty before theBoeing 737 MAX groundingsfollowing the March 2019Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302crash.[73]In theAlaska Airlines Flight 1282accident, the Cockpit Voice Recorder functioned properly but the data was overwritten as the CVR remained powered, and functioning. The critical accident data was overwritten by over two hours of post-incident sounds until a maintenance crew could enter the aircraft after the incident and power down the CVR.[74][75]

Image recorders[edit]

The NTSB has asked for the installation of cockpit image recorders in large transport aircraft to provide information that would supplement existing CVR and FDR data in accident investigations. They have recommended that image recorders be placed into smaller aircraft that are not required to have a CVR or FDR.[76]The rationale is that what is seen on an instrument by the pilots of an aircraft is not necessarily the same as the data sent to the display device. This is particularly true of aircraft equipped with electronic displays (CRTorLCD). A mechanical instrument panel is likely to preserve its last indications, but this is not the case with an electronic display. Such systems, estimated to cost less than $8,000 installed, typically consist of a camera and microphone located in the cockpit to continuously record cockpit instrumentation, the outside viewing area, engine sounds, radio communications, and ambient cockpit sounds. As with conventional CVRs and FDRs, data from such a system is stored in a crash-protected unit to ensure survivability.[76][better source needed]Since the recorders can sometimes be crushed into unreadable pieces, or even located in deep water, some modern units are self-ejecting (taking advantage ofkinetic energyat impact to separate themselves from the aircraft) and also equipped withradioemergency locator transmittersandsonarunderwater locator beacons to aid in their location.[77]

Cultural references[edit]

  • The artwork for the bandRammstein's albumReise, Reiseis made to look like a CVR; it also includes a recording from a crash. The recording is from the last 1–2 minutes of the CVR ofJapan Airlines Flight 123,which crashed on August 12, 1985, killing 520 people; JAL123 is the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in history.[78]
  • Members of the performing arts collectiveCollective:Unconsciousmade a theatrical presentation of a play calledCharlie Victor Romeowith a script based on transcripts from CVR voice recordings of nine aircraft emergencies. The play features the famousUnited Airlines Flight 232that crash-landed in a cornfield nearSioux City,Iowa,after suffering a catastrophic failure of one engine and most flight controls.[79]
  • Survivor,a novel by American authorChuck Palahniuk,is about acultmember who dictates his life story to a flight recorder before the plane runs out of fuel and crashes.[80]
  • Instand-up comedy,many jokes have been made asking why the entire airplane is not made out of the material used to make black boxes, given that the black box survives the crash. This is referenced in the 2001Chris RockmovieDown to Earth,[81]although the original joke is widely credited toGeorge Carlin.[82]
  • In May 2024 a new Australian play / experimental soundscape theatre production titled "BlackBox" was premiered as a production at QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Centre), Brisbane, QLD for a debut 19 performance season. The entirely new concept sung musical play with soundscape requiring the audience to wear WiFi Bluetooth Headphones for directional sound overlay told the factual story of Australian David Warren's strained development of the Flight Recorder Black Box wire encoding flight data recorder whilst working at the Australian Aeronautical Research Laboratories (now DSTO - Defence Science Technology Office Group) as an engineer & the toll that development & bureaucratic, technical & political difficulties associated with the Black Box's development had in his private life. (A technical engineering, aviation history & social drama). The Production was by Grey Gum Productions & Tinderbox Productions, Play / Musical Book, Music, Lyrics & Produced by Paul Hodge, Directed by David Berthold, Starring Australian musical actors & sung by Michael Cormick (as David Warren) & Helen Dallimore (as Ruth Warren, David's wife) & with original new theme song ( "A New Era" ) sung by previous Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (2nd place winner) runner-up Dami Im. The musical play "BlackBox" is described as the world's first "Binaural Musical" (due to the innovative & unusual technical factors of the audience wearing sound directional WiFi Loop headphones for the entire play / musical performance) in publicity & review materials of the production. The play / musicals duration or running time is approximately 2-1/4 hours in 2 acts with one interval. Its opening night was 10 May 2024 & its initial & debut development season ran @ Qld Performing Arts Centre's Cremorne Theatre from 10-19 May 2024.[83][84][85]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Jean-Claude Fayer,Vols d'essais: Le Centre d'Essais en Vol de 1945 à 1960,published by E.T.A.I. (Paris), 2001, 384 pages,ISBN2-7268-8534-9
  2. ^Page 206 and 209 of Beaudouin & Beaudouin
  3. ^Black Box History,May 22, 2020,archivedfrom the original on January 25, 2022,retrievedMay 22,2020
  4. ^"Valtion lentokonetehdas: Mata-Hari eli musta laatikko"[State aircraft factory: Mata-Hari or black box].Museums of Tampere(in Finnish). 1946. Archived fromthe originalon October 19, 2017.RetrievedOctober 19,2017.
  5. ^Chuck Owl (February 4, 2015),Audio From the Past [E01] - WW2 - Avro Lancaster Crew Radio,archivedfrom the original on November 16, 2018,retrievedFebruary 13,2019
  6. ^Porter, Kenneth (January 1944)."Radio News, 'Radio - On a Flying Fortress'"(PDF).www.americanradiohistory.com.p. 21.Archived(PDF)from the original on January 25, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 13,2019.
  7. ^ab"Dave Warren – Inventor of the black box flight recorder".Defence Science and Technology Organisation.Archived fromthe originalon July 6, 2011.
  8. ^ab"Australia invented the Black Box voice and instrument recorder".apc-online.com.February 9, 2000.Archivedfrom the original on July 7, 2011.RetrievedMarch 11,2014.
  9. ^abcdMarcus Williamson (July 31, 2010)."David Warren: Inventor and developer of the 'black box' flight data recorder".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on May 30, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 5,2018.
  10. ^"A Brief History of Black Boxes".Time.July 20, 2009. p. 22.
  11. ^"A Brief History of Black Boxes".Time.July 20, 2009. p. 22. Archived fromthe originalon February 3, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 1,2012.
  12. ^Tony Bailey (January 2006)."Flight Data Recorders – Built to Survive"(PDF).aea.net.Avionics News. p. 38.Archived(PDF)from the original on December 10, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 5,2018.
  13. ^"1967 | 1315 | Flight Archive".Archived fromthe originalon February 14, 2019.
  14. ^"US Patent 2,959,459 for Flight Recorder by James J. Ryan".Archivedfrom the original on January 8, 2016.RetrievedMarch 25,2014.
  15. ^"US Patent 3,075,192 for Coding Apparatus for Flight Recorders by James J. Ryan".Archivedfrom the original on January 8, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 7,2014.
  16. ^Fisher, Scott M. (January 2013)."Father of the Black Box".Aviation History.RetrievedJanuary 31,2022.
  17. ^ab"Cockpit Sound Recorder".Google Patents.Google Inc.Archivedfrom the original on April 28, 2016.RetrievedDecember 31,2013.
  18. ^"Airplane 'Black Box' Flight Recorder Technology, How it Works"ArchivedOctober 11, 2016, at theWayback Machine.Slyck News,March 13, 2014
  19. ^"Why Are Cockpit Voice Recorders Painted Orange and Called a Black Box?"ArchivedSeptember 17, 2016, at theWayback Machine.Guardian Liberty Voice,By Jerry Nelson on March 8, 2014
  20. ^"AAHS Journal Vol 59 Nos 3-4 - Fall / Win".www.aahs-online.org.Archivedfrom the original on September 3, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 3,2021.
  21. ^"The Flight Data Recorder"ArchivedOctober 11, 2016, at theWayback Machine.Aviation Digest,May 11, 2015, page 58.
  22. ^abUS Patent 3,327,067 for Cockpit Sound Recorder by Edmund A. Boniface, Jr.ArchivedJuly 7, 2017, at theWayback Machine;
  23. ^Allen, B. R.; Leak, John S. (1966), "The potential role of flight recorders in aircraft accident investigation",Aviation Safety Meeting,BOSP 7-4, U.S. Civil Aeronautics Board,doi:10.2514/6.1966-810
  24. ^"Flight, 'Radar for Airlines'".Flight.May 2, 1945. p. 434.Archivedfrom the original on February 14, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 13,2019.
  25. ^Corddry, Charles Jr. (August 1944).Flying, 'Aerial Eavesdropper'.p. 150.Archivedfrom the original on January 25, 2022.RetrievedOctober 17,2020.
  26. ^[1]ArchivedJanuary 24, 2014, at theWayback Machine
  27. ^Scott, Geoffrey (December 14, 1967)."Flight, 'Saving the Record'".www.flightglobal.com.p. 1002.Archivedfrom the original on February 14, 2019.RetrievedFebruary 13,2019.
  28. ^"France to resume 'black box' hunt".BBC News.December 13, 2009.Archivedfrom the original on January 25, 2022.RetrievedApril 30,2010.
  29. ^"Flight Data Recorder Systems"(PDF).Federal Aviation Administration. April 10, 2007. Section 3 Point B.Archived(PDF)from the original on September 13, 2009.RetrievedApril 8,2010.
  30. ^"Aircraft Electronics + Electrical Systems: Flight data and cockpit voice recorders".industrial-electronics.com.A Measurement-Testing network.Archivedfrom the original on November 11, 2018.RetrievedMarch 27,2019.
  31. ^"FLIGHT DATA RECORDER OSA - TM-1-1510-225-10_280".aviationandaccessories.tpub.com.Archivedfrom the original on December 10, 2018.RetrievedAugust 29,2021.
  32. ^"SSFDR Solid State Flight Data Recorder, ARINC 747 - TSO C 124 - ED 55"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on November 8, 2012.
  33. ^"Cockpit Voice Recorder Equipment"(PDF).Federal Aviation Administration. June 1, 2006.Archived(PDF)from the original on October 26, 2007.RetrievedApril 21,2007.
  34. ^ab"Federal Aviation Regulation Sec. 121.359(h)(i)(2), amendment 338 and greater – Cockpit voice recorders".Risingup.com.Archivedfrom the original on February 6, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 7,2013.
  35. ^Bellamy III, Woodrow (April 13, 2019)."L3 Has New Data, Voice Recorders for EASA's 2021 Mandate".Avionics International.RetrievedJune 19,2023.
  36. ^Walsh, Amelia (March 21, 2023)."FAA Proposes Extending Cockpit Voice Recording to 25 Hours".FLYING Magazine.RetrievedJune 19,2023.
  37. ^Wallace, Greg (March 17, 2023)."The FAA proposes lengthening cockpit voice recording time to 25 hours - CBS Sacramento".www.cbsnews.com.RetrievedJune 19,2023.
  38. ^Villamizar, Helwing (January 8, 2024)."No Data on Flight 1282 Cockpit Voice Recorder, NTSB Calls out FAA".Airways.RetrievedJanuary 8,2024.
  39. ^Tracy Connor (October 28, 1999). "Learjet probe focuses on value replaced 2 days before crash".The New York Post.p. 18.The record works on a half hour loop, so it has no information about the crucial first hour
  40. ^"ARL Flight Memory Recorder".Museums Victoria Collections.Archivedfrom the original on October 5, 2021.RetrievedOctober 5,2021.
  41. ^Mirfield, Theon Neuma (May 1964)."Miniature wire recording desks with limited memory".The Australian Journal of Instrument Technology.May:94–100.Archivedfrom the original on October 20, 2019.RetrievedOctober 20,2019.
  42. ^"Federal Aviation Regulation Sec. 23.1457 – Cockpit voice recorders".Risingup.com.Archivedfrom the original on February 10, 2012.RetrievedFebruary 7,2013.
  43. ^"L-3 Aviation Recorders".l-3ar.com.Archived fromthe originalon July 27, 2014.RetrievedJuly 23,2014.
  44. ^"Flight and mission data recording & management - SferiRec".Hensoldt. 2019.Archivedfrom the original on August 12, 2019.RetrievedAugust 12,2019.
  45. ^"History of Flight Recorders".L3 Flight Recorders. Archived fromthe originalon December 11, 2013.
  46. ^Luftfahrt."European Organisation for Civil Aviation Equipment".Eurocae.net.Archivedfrom the original on January 9, 2014.RetrievedMarch 11,2014.
  47. ^"TSO-C124a FAA Regs".Airweb.faa.gov. May 23, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2016.RetrievedMarch 11,2014.
  48. ^"Black box flight recorders".ATSB. April 1, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on October 9, 2016.RetrievedOctober 7,2016.
  49. ^[2]ArchivedAugust 11, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  50. ^"Dave Warren - Inventor of the black box flight recorder".Defence Science and Technology Organisation.March 29, 2005. Archived fromthe originalon May 22, 2010.RetrievedApril 20,2010.
  51. ^Campbell, Neil."The Evolution of Flight Data Analysis"(PDF).Proc. Australian Society of Air Safety Investigators conference, 2007.Archived(PDF)from the original on February 4, 2016.RetrievedApril 7,2014.
  52. ^Nick Komos (August 1989). "Air Progress": 76.{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  53. ^"2011 Most Wanted List Page. Recorders".NTSBArchivedAugust 4, 2014, at theWayback Machine
  54. ^U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (April 25, 2010)."14 CFR 91.609".Legal Information Institute.Cornell Law School.Archivedfrom the original on August 9, 2016.RetrievedJune 17,2016.
  55. ^"History of the NTSB".NTSB Official Site.Archivedfrom the original on May 12, 2016.RetrievedJune 17,2016.
  56. ^"CVR Handbook"(PDF).www.ntsb.gov.Archived(PDF)from the original on September 3, 2020.RetrievedJune 29,2020.
  57. ^"ARINC Store, 700 series".Archived fromthe originalon August 14, 2011.RetrievedNovember 12,2015.
  58. ^"RE: Continuous Overwriting of Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) Information. NCAA"(PDF).Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.RetrievedJanuary 9,2024.The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) had noticed that some airline operators' flight crew members were in the practice of continuously overwriting the CVR information after an occurrence. This practice makes it practically impossible for the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to retrieve actual data to aid in its investigation
  59. ^Shadare, Wole (July 27, 2023)."Airlines Doctor Cockpit Voice Recorder To Hide Serious Incidents, Accidents".New Telegraph.RetrievedJanuary 9,2024.airlines indulge in the unprofessional act in order to circumvent investigation by the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).[...] safety managers stated that some airlines have consistently indulged in this unwholesome practice, which could impact safety negatively. The NCAA and the NSIB had in the wake of the report of the incident involving Max Air's B747 incident expressed concern over the incessant occurrence of the issue with airlines.
  60. ^ab"Aviation Today".aviationtoday.com.Archived fromthe originalon March 25, 2014.
  61. ^"Safe Aviation and Flight Enhancement Act of 2005 (2005; 109th Congress H.R. 3336) - GovTrack.us".GovTrack.us.Archivedfrom the original on March 22, 2014.RetrievedApril 7,2014.
  62. ^"Text of the Safe Aviation and Flight Enhancement Act-((SAFE) Act of 2003)".Archivedfrom the original on September 25, 2015.RetrievedAugust 2,2015– via govtrack.us.
  63. ^"Bill Text - 108th Congress (2003-2004) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)".Thomas.loc.gov. Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2016.RetrievedMarch 11,2014.
  64. ^"Bill Text - 109th Congress (2005-2006) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)".Thomas.loc.gov. Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2016.RetrievedMarch 11,2014.
  65. ^"Bill Text - 110th Congress (2007-2008) - THOMAS (Library of Congress)".Thomas.loc.gov. Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2016.RetrievedMarch 11,2014.
  66. ^Jansen, Bart."Lawmaker urges 'black boxes' that eject from planes".USA Today.Archivedfrom the original on July 10, 2017.RetrievedAugust 26,2017.
  67. ^"Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 makes it clear: we need to rethink black boxes | Stephen Trimble | Comment is free".theguardian.com.Archivedfrom the original on March 30, 2014.RetrievedMarch 31,2014.
  68. ^"Malaysia Airlines MH370: Why airlines don't live-stream black box data".Technology & Science.CBC News. August 4, 2005.Archivedfrom the original on March 30, 2014.RetrievedMarch 31,2014.
  69. ^Yu, Yijun."If we'd used the cloud, we might know where MH370 is now"ArchivedJuly 24, 2014, at theWayback Machine,The Conversation,London, March 18, 2014. Retrieved on August 21, 2014.
  70. ^"MH370: Expert demands better black box technology".The Sydney Morning Herald.April 28, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on April 28, 2014.RetrievedApril 28,2014.
  71. ^"AirAsia QZ8501: More bad weather hits AirAsia search".BBC News.January 1, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on August 15, 2018.RetrievedJune 21,2018.
  72. ^abLampert, Allison; Martell, Allison (January 8, 2015)."AirAsia crash makes case for ejectable black boxes".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on October 12, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 5,2021.
  73. ^"Opinion: The Time Is Ripe for Live Flight Data Streaming".Aviation Week & Space Technology.March 22, 2019.Archivedfrom the original on January 25, 2022.RetrievedMarch 22,2019.
  74. ^Villamizar, Helwing (January 8, 2024)."No Data on Flight 1282 Cockpit Voice Recorder, NTSB Calls out FAA".Airways Publishing, LLC.RetrievedJanuary 9,2024.The NTSB sent the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) to their labs. They will use data from the FDR to narrow down the area to search for the door plug. However, the CVR was completely overwritten, meaning there is nothing on the CVR. The CVR overwrites every two hours.
  75. ^Nesi, Chris (January 8, 2024)."Black box recorder from imperiled Alaska Airlines flight completely erased: 'We have nothing'".New York Post.RetrievedJanuary 9,2024.
  76. ^ab"NTSB — Most Wanted".Ntsb.gov. Archived fromthe originalon November 3, 2013.RetrievedMarch 11,2014.
  77. ^"These Black Boxes Are Designed to Eject Themselves in a Plane Crash".Travel + Leisure.Archivedfrom the original on October 5, 2021.RetrievedOctober 5,2021.
  78. ^Beckner, Justin."The Easter Egg Hidden on Rammstein's 'Reise, Reise' Album".UltimateGuitar.RetrievedJuly 17,2023.
  79. ^"Collective: Unconscious".Charlievictorromeo.com. July 3, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on May 17, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 7,2013.
  80. ^Survivor Summary & Study Guide.RetrievedJuly 17,2023– via Bookrags.
  81. ^"Down to Earth Movie Script".Scripts.com.RetrievedJuly 17,2023.
  82. ^"Quote by George Carlin".Goodreads.RetrievedJuly 17,2023.
  83. ^"BlackBox (Theatre Card Programme Notes with Production credits Publ'd by QPAC May 2024)".{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help)
  84. ^"Artshub Musical Review of" BlackBox "premiere debut production Opening Season dated May 13, 2024".
  85. ^"QPAC What's On May 2024".

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Media related toFlight data recordersat Wikimedia Commons

Public DomainThis article incorporatespublic domain materialfrom websites or documents of theNational Transportation Safety Board.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flight_recorder&oldid=1233537855#Cockpit_voice_recorder"