How black boxes became key to solving airplane crashes
Following the search for survivors and rescue of victims of tragic aviation crashes POWER SUPPLY Shortly after the cargo plane took off from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky last month, flight data and a cockpit voice recorder, often referred to as a “black box,” were searched.
Every commercial airliner has them. aviation giants GE Aviation And Honeywell’s is one of several companies that designed them to be nearly indestructible so they could help investigators understand the cause of the crash.
“These are very important because they’re one of the few sources of information that tells us what happened leading up to the crash,” said Chris Babcock, branch chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s vehicle recorder division. “We can get a lot of information from the parts and the aircraft.”
Commercial aircraft have become very complex. A. Boeing’s The 787 Dreamliner records thousands of different information. In the Air India crash in June, data revealed that both engine fuel switches were placed in the cut-off position within one second of each other. An audio recording from inside the cockpit showed the pilots discussing the cuts.
“All of these parameters today could have a huge impact on the investigation,” former NTSB member John Goglia said. “Our goal is to provide information to our investigators at the scene as quickly as possible to help advance the investigation.”
This important data can also help prevent future accidents. A crash can cost airlines or aircraft manufacturers hundreds of millions of dollars and leave victims’ families with a lifetime of pain.
But in some cases, black boxes were destroyed or never found. Experts say further developments are needed, such as cockpit video recorders and real-time data streaming.
“The technology is available. Crash-rated cockpit video recorders are already installed on many helicopters and other types of aircraft, but they are not needed,” said Jeff Guzzetti, an aviation analyst and former accident investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB. “There are privacy and cost issues with cockpit video recorders, but the NTSB has been recommending that the FAA require them for years.”
Watch the video to learn more.
— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.
