Who is required to use flight data recorders, "Black Boxes?"

Who is required to use flight data recorders, "Black Boxes?"

Introduction

A FDR i.e. flight data recorder or ADR i.e. Accident Data recorder popularly known as the black box is a combination of two devices packed in a box. The first is an electronic device which has the role of recording any electronic signal sent from the cock pit to any of the electronic components of the air craft. The second component of the flight data recorder is the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) which records each and every bit of conversation between the pilots in the cock pit; it also records the conversation which the pilot makes with the air crew and the conversation of the pilot with the ground authorities monitoring flights. The CVR comes with an additional feature according to which it also records the ambient noises present in the cockpit.

The key role of the black box present ion the cock pit is to ease the investigation of accidents of air craft's other than that it is also used for air safety issues, engine performance and material degradation. As the role of the black box is to aid in situations after accidents and unfortunately air craft accidents doesn't leaves any survivors in majority cases the black box is designed with great accuracy and with the involvement of all latest technology available. The black box is designed in such a manner that it sustains damages from high speed impact and damage from the heat of high intensity fire.

Although the name suggests a black box but in reality its exterior is coated with bright orange paint which is heat resistant, this helps in visibility in cases of wreckage. The black box is mostly installed in the tail end of the aero plane which is known as empennage. This location is specifically chosen for the black box as it has higher chances to survive severe crash from this location. The extraction of an undamaged black box is of the highest priority for the investigators in case an accident occurs on the air craft (Teledyne, 2001).

Discussion

Design of a Black Box

The modern day FDR is designed to international standards which in USA recognize Federal aviation Administration is the core authority and designs are made according to their regulations. The recent regulations expect the black box to sustain an acceleration of 33 kilometers per Second Square. Similarly the specs expect it to sustain fluid immersion, sea water immersion, deep sea pressure, low and high temperature fires, static crush and penetration resistance.

The FDR receives input via Flight Data Acquisition Units (FDAU) upon each specific data frame. Significant flight parameters are recorded which include engine information, actuator position and time of day. The FAA expects the black box to at least record 88 parameters at a time. Majority of the FDRs are expected to record data in a continuous loop for at least 17 hours and record up till 25 hours.

FDR boxes also perform flight data monitoring ...