Using sophisticated equipment, the information stored on the recorders is extracted and translated into an understandable format. When the boxes are found, they are immediately transported to NTSB headquarters in Washington, DC for processing. Following an aviation accident, NTSB investigators are immediately dispatched to the scene to begin gathering evidence and undertake the search for the black boxes. The NTSB determines the probable cause of the accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. The NTSB is an independent Federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in other modes of transportation – railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline. Underwater locator beacons assist in recovering recorders immersed in water. Though popularly known as “black boxes,” the steel cases that protect the sensitive recording devices inside are painted high-visibility orange so they can be more easily spotted at a crash site. The recorders inside are wrapped in a thin layer of aluminum and a layer of high-temperature insulation. The boxes themselves are made of stainless steel or titanium and made to withstand high impact velocity or a crash impact of 3,400 Gs and temperatures up to 2000 degrees F (1,100 degrees C) for at least 30 minutes. One of the black boxes, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), records radio transmissions and sounds in the cockpit while the other, the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), monitors parameters such as altitude, airspeed, and heading.īoth recorders are typically installed in the tail of the plane, the most crash-survivable part of the aircraft. In the event of an aircraft incident or accident, investigators use the data from the black boxes to reconstruct the events leading to the event. Large commercial aircraft and some smaller commercial, corporate, and private aircraft are required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be equipped with two "black boxes" that record information about a flight.
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