What is The Black Box And How Does it Work?

What is the Black Box located in all planes and how does it work?

The Black Box is a device that records flight details including cockpit dialogs and engine speed. It was invented by the Australian scientist David Warren in 1957. You may have heard “according to the information obtained from the Black Box” expression in plane accident news before. In case of an air accident, the Black Box is analyzed by the authorities to define the reasons behind the accident.

There are two Black Boxes in each plane, usually located at the back of a plane, and each of them weighs about 9 kilograms. The first box is CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder), which records the dialogs and sounds in the cockpit during the flight. 

The other box is FDR (Flight Data Recorder), which is also known as ADR (Accident Data Recorder). This Black Box records air speed, altitude, engine exhaust gas, temperature, fuel flow, etc. data for at least 25 hours. 

Although it is named “Black Box”, it is not actually black. You may be surprised, but it is orange. And it is not a box anymore, it is a cylinder. The box is made of reinforced metals and titanium, which makes it extremely durable. It is painted orange, to ensure that it is easily found at the scene in case of an accident. At the same time, the Black Box sends out a location the moment it contacts water. 

As mentioned above, a Black Box is the most important and indispensable part of a plane. Did you know the Black Box was actually orange before reading this article?