What's Inside a Plane's ‘Black Box'?

The Black Box isn't black, and it's not a box either. It's the most vital tool in any air crash investigation—recording speed, altitude, pilot conversations, and warning signals. In the Air India crash, its recovery from the largely intact tail section was crucial. Withstanding extreme heat and impact, it holds the answers to what went wrong. Here's how it works and what makes it indispensable.
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Time of India

9 hours ago

• Time of India

Evening news wrap: Israel carries out massive overnight airstrikes in Iran by deploying 60 fighter jets; Ax‑4 mission delayed again, no new launch date announced; & more

photo/agencies Today's top 5 news developments include the latest developments between Iran and Israel as tensions escalates in the middle east, the delay of the Ax-4 mission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's recent rally in Bihar. The tensions in the middle-east are continuously rising. The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday conducted extensive overnight strikes on numerous military targets within Iran. The axiom 4 mission set to carry India's group captain Shubhanshu Shukla and three other members to space has been delayed again. PM Narendra Modi visited Bihar's Siwan and inaugurated multiple development projects. He even addressed the public. Israel carries out massive overnight airstrikes in Iran by deploying 60 fighter jets In a highly coordinated operation on the night of June 20, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched a sweeping airstrike campaign using around 60 fighter jets to strike strategic military and nuclear-related sites across Iran. The planned offensive specifically hit the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), a facility believed to be pivotal in Iran's nuclear weapons development. Read full story Ax‑4 mission delayed again, no new launch date announced The Axiom‑4 mission set to carry India's Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and crew from Poland and Hungary to the ISS has been postponed once more. The launch was postponed so NASA, Axiom Space and SpaceX can further inspect and ensure the readiness of the ISS following repairs on its Zvezda service module. Flight teams say the crew remains in quarantine in Florida and is prepared to launch, with hopes to still meet the late‑June window which runs until June 30 but no fix date has been confirmed. Read full story PM Modi flags off Vande Bharat express, launches ₹9,500 crore projects in Bihar Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Siwan, Bihar, on June 20 where he launched development projects worth over ₹9,500 crore. These included sewage treatment works under Namami Gange, rural water supply projects, solar energy and power storage facilities, and housing schemes. He also flagged off a new Vande Bharat Express between Patliputra and Gorakhpur and unveiled India's first export-bound locomotive. Read full story Air India fare drops after Boeing 787 crash Air India has slashed fares by up to 24% on both domestic and international routes following the June 12 crash of its Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Travel platform ixigo data shows major declines in fare prices. Air India is inspecting its entire fleet of 33 Dreamliner aircraft, following a directive from the civil aviation regulator. Read full story India and England cricketers pay tribute to Ahmedabad Air crash victims During the first Test between India and England, both teams observed a minute's silence and wore black armbands to honor those who died in the recent Ahmedabad air crash. The tribute took place before the start of the match, showing solidarity with the victims and their families. Indian vice-captain Rishabh Pant said the team hopes to bring some happiness to the nation through their performance. Read full story

Time of India

a day ago

• Time of India

Air India crash: Government denies sending black boxes abroad, says AAIB will decide based on assessment

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on Thursday denied media reports suggesting that the black boxes from the Air India AI171 crash would be sent abroad. The ministry clarified that a decision on where to decode the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) will be taken by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) after a full technical assessment. The MoCA statement read, 'It has been reported in certain media outlets that the CVR/DFDR from the ill-fated AI171 flight is being sent abroad for retrieval and analysis. The decision regarding the location for decoding the flight recorders will be taken by the AAIB after due assessment.' Investigation ongoing with global assistance The crash of Air India Flight AI171 near Ahmedabad on 12 June 2025 resulted in the deaths of 241 people on board and several on the ground. The AAIB launched an investigation on the same day, supported by experts from the US National Transportation Safety Board and aircraft manufacturers, as per global protocols under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Two black box sets—one retrieved on 13 June and the other on 16 June—have been recovered from the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner involved in the crash. These boxes include both the CVR and DFDR, which are key to understanding the moments leading to the disaster. Domestic lab may handle data, says MoCA India's recently launched black box decoding facility at Udaan Bhawan in New Delhi is equipped to handle such tasks. Opened in April 2025, the lab was developed in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and is intended to make India self-reliant in aviation accident analysis. However, officials noted that if the recovered recorders are found to be heavily damaged or need advanced tools beyond what's currently available in the Delhi lab, the data may be processed at specialised international labs. The United States remains a likely option, considering the aircraft is a Boeing model. Black boxes hold critical clues to crash cause The flight data recorder logs key technical parameters such as altitude, speed, and engine performance, while the cockpit voice recorder captures pilot communication and cockpit sounds. This information is expected to provide insights into the crash, which happened just seconds after takeoff. The AAIB is leading the probe with coordination from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Air India. A preliminary report is expected within 30 days, with the final report to follow within a year, as per ICAO guidelines.

First Post

2 days ago

• First Post

Air India black box damaged: Is this a setback to the probe? What happens now?

The black box of the crashed Air India AI-171 flight has sustained damage as the plane hit a residential area in Ahmedabad, moments after take-off, last week. Reports say the recorder is likely to be sent to the US for analysing data. What information does the black box hold? read more India is likely to send the black box recovered from the crashed Air India AI-171 flight to the United States for data extraction. The recorder has reportedly sustained damage after the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner came down on a residential area in Ahmedabad, moments after take-off, last week. A video of the crash showed the Air India flight struggling to stay airborne before rapidly descending and disappearing behind trees and buildings. This was followed by an explosion in the sky. The plane had crashed into a doctors' accommodation building at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital, killing 241 of 242 people on board and 33 on the ground. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But what is a black box and why is it necessary in the Air India crash investigation? We will explain. What are black boxes? The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) make up the black boxes on an aircraft. Also known as accident data recorders, flight data recorders store information on several parameters, including altitude, flight speed, flight control, engine performance, fuel, turbulence, wind speed, roll, and autopilot status. A cockpit voice recorder records radio transmissions and other audio in the cockpit, such as conversations between pilots, engine sounds, background noises, landing gear extension and retraction, and instrumentation warnings. The black boxes are usually bright orange in colour, so they can be easily found in the debris of the plane. The flight data recorder from TWA flight 800 is displayed at NTSB headquarters July 25, 1996. File Photo/Reuters How important are black boxes? All commercial flights must have black boxes. The two recorders help investigators piece together events leading to an aircraft mishap. CVRs pick up audio from the crew's microphones, pilots' headsets, and near the centre of the cockpit. They can record two hours of audio data, while 25 hours of flight data remain available on FDRs. Black boxes are highly protective equipment, weighing about 4.5 kg, that record information about a flight and help to find out what led to its crash. 'With the data retrieved from the FDR, the Safety Board can generate a computer animated video reconstruction of the flight. The investigator can then visualise the airplane's attitude, instrument readings, power settings and other characteristics of the flight. This animation enables the investigating team to visualise the last moments of the flight before the accident,' US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on its website. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Both the Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder have proven to be valuable tools in the accident investigation process. They can provide information that may be difficult or impossible to obtain by other means. When used in conjunction with other information gained in the investigation, the recorders are playing an ever increasing role in determining the probable cause of an aircraft accident,' it added. Can black boxes be destroyed during plane crash? Black boxes are usually installed at the tail end of the aircraft, as it increases their chances of survival during a mishap. The FDR and CVR are kept in one box made of titanium or stainless steel and wrapped with fire and heat-resistant insulation. The black box is designed to withstand an acceleration of 3,400 Gs (3,400 times the force of gravity) and a temperature of up to 1093 degrees Celsius for an hour. FDRs can survive depths of over 6,000 metres underwater. When submerged in water, the beacon present in these devices can transmit ultrasound signals for 30 days. This underwater locator beacon (ULB), which has a battery life of over six years, transmits sound as deep as 14,000 feet and can be tracked by sonar and audio equipment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD These beacons will not send out ultrasonic pings if the plane crashed on land; thus, the investigators will have to scour the accident site for the black box. Data from the black boxes is stored on 'stacked memory boards inside the crash-survivable memory unit (CSMU)', as per How Stuff Works. These CSMUs can hold out against extreme heat, crashes and tonnes of pressure. 'It is extremely rare for a black box to be destroyed. Black boxes have traditionally outperformed their design,' Scott Hamilton, director of Leeham Co., an aviation consulting company, told NPR. 'It would take a concentrated fire beyond its design strength, or an impact so high that it would be beyond what it could withstand.' However, black boxes have not always helped investigators. It came to light in January that the flight data and cockpit voice recorders on the Jeju Air plane stopped recording nearly four minutes before the airliner hit a concrete structure at the end of a runway at South Korea's Muan International Airport on December 29 last year. The disaster, the worst in South Korea, had killed 179 people. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Questions have arisen about the eight black boxes on the four hijacked flights that crashed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US. As per a 2001 ABC News report, flight data recorders were recovered from Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania. The voice transcript extracted from them is available online, Forbes reported. As per ABC News, the black boxes were also recovered from the collapsed portion of the Pentagon building, where a jet slammed into during the terrorist attacks. Will India send black boxes to the US? India could send the black box of the crashed Air India flight to the US for analysis. The recorder has sustained damage due to the fire as the plane crashed in Ahmedabad, making it difficult to extract the data in India, Economic Times (ET) reported, citing sources. As per Ministry of Civil Aviation sources, the Centre will take a final call on whether to send the black box to the US or not. The black box may be sent to the National Transportation Safety Board laboratory in Washington, DC for examination. In the event it is sent to the US, a contingent of Indian officials will also go with the black box. Sources previously told Indian Express that digital flight data recorder (DFDR) and CVR will be analysed in India or sent abroad, depending on their physical condition and the extent of data analysis needed for the investigation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'While AAIB had established a laboratory at its headquarters in Delhi last year, it is yet to be properly equipped to extract data from recorders which have sustained heavy damage. The NTSB team will carry them to their lab under protection and supervision from Indian officials to ensure that proper protocols are followed,' a person in the know told ET. The source said it could take two days to months to extract data from the black box, depending on the damage. 'Since the recorder has been damaged, the chip will need to be extracted by removing the memory board so that there is no further damage to data. The electronic circuit will also have to be assessed for damage,' the person said. With inputs from agencies