"Black Box" is one of the specialized electronic recording devices for airplanes. The black box is divided into: pilot cockpit recorder and flight data recorder. The former can record the pilot's conversation with each other from after takeoff to before landing.
The recording tape can be fireproof, waterproof and shockproof. The latter can record various data during flight. The flight recorder is housed in a black metal box that is resistant to heat, pressure, water and corrosion. The black boxes of modern airplanes have been painted orange or yellow, but they are still customarily called black boxes.
The shell of the black box has a very thick steel plate and many layers of adiabatic shock and pressure protection material, usually installed in the tail of the aircraft in the safest part. The recording medium has also been improved from magnetic tape to a static storage recorder that can withstand greater impacts, similar to the memory chips in computers, to prevent the black box from being damaged in a crash.
Functional application of the black box
In order to obtain objective and comprehensive information during the accident investigation, the types and quantities of data recorded by the black box have been increasing. The types of data have expanded from the initial flight and audio data to video and data chain data; the number of parameters has gradually developed from the initial five to several hundred or even thousands.
Flight data generally includes aircraft and engine operation status, pilot maneuvering, aircraft external information, etc.; audio data generally includes front and co-pilot's calls, calls between the aircraft and the ground, calls between the crew, and cockpit environment sound, etc.; video data generally includes cockpit instrumentation displays, pilot movements, aircraft front view, landing gear retraction and release, etc.
Through the special data playback software, the available black box data can visually and realistically reproduce the aircraft flight process, automatically analyze the potential faults and abnormalities of the aircraft and personnel operation, and prevent failures or accidents from occurring, which greatly improves the level of aviation flight safety.
The above content reference? Baidu Encyclopedia-Black Box