The last seconds of life: audio recordings from “Black Boxes” - Leo Gor. What is an airplane black box and what color is it really? What did decoding the black boxes reveal?

When a plane crash occurs, great hopes are placed on deciphering the “black box.” We will tell you what a “black box” is and why it is so important to “read” it.

Why and when was it invented?

Australia is considered the birthplace of the first "black box". The credit for the invention is given to David Warren. In 1953, he worked on the team of the commission that investigated the causes of the crash of the first passenger jet airliner, Comet-2, and began to think that it would be nice to have a device on board every aircraft that could record all the processes occurring during the flight.

Four years later the first flight recorder was made. David put it together with colleagues at the Aeronautics Laboratory in Melbourne. A year later, the head of the British Aircraft Registration Agency became interested in the device. He invited Warren to England, where, with the help of other specialists, the “black box” was improved. Two years later, after a plane crash that occurred in the state of Queensland, “black boxes” were ordered to be carried on all Australian ships and they began to spread throughout the world.

Why is the box called "black"

It’s trite, but true - the box, of course, is not black. And not a box. Many have seen him in pictures. Usually it is either an orange ball or an orange cylinder. There are two versions as to why the device is still called “black”. According to one thing, the first “black boxes” really were black boxes, and they began to be painted in bright colors later; according to another, the box was called “black” because it was inaccessible to anyone except narrow specialists. Even ground crews could not touch the flight recorder.

What is it made of?

Traditionally, the shell of black boxes is made of titanium alloys or alloyed iron. In any case, it is a high-strength, heat-resistant material. Although, it must be said that the main safety of “black boxes” is ensured not even by the material from which they are made, but by their location. Usually - in the tail or fin of the aircraft.

What is inside?

The “stuffing” of “black boxes” changed over time, but its essence remained the same. Inside the flight recorder there is a device that records changes occurring during the flight, technical parameters, and records conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers. In the first “black boxes” the parameters were recorded in ink on paper tape, there was no need to talk about quality, then rapid development began, photographic film began to be used, then wire. Today, data is typically recorded on magnetic and solid-state drives.

What loads can it withstand?

Black boxes are designed with critical loads in mind. They can withstand 3400 g, and static pressure of 2 tons for 5 minutes, water pressure at depths of up to 6000 meters.

A special topic is testing the strength of recorders. Science magazine provides a list of checks that black boxes undergo before use. A sample recorder is fired from an air cannon, beaten, crushed, kept in fire at a temperature of 1000 degrees Celsius, kept at low temperatures down to -70 degrees, immersed in salt water and process fluids (gasoline, kerosene, machine oils).

What do black boxes read?

Black boxes are constantly being improved. The first onboard readers recorded only five parameters (heading, altitude, speed, vertical acceleration, and time). They were recorded using a stylus on metal disposable foil. The last round of evolution of on-board readers dates back to 1990, when solid-state media began to be used for recording. Modern “black boxes” are capable of monitoring up to 256 parameters. NationalGeografic reports that the latest models of recorders can monitor the movement of all parts of the wing and landing systems.

Why are they looking for so long?

All flight recorders are equipped with radio beacons, as well as acoustic systems for searching under water, which are activated only in case of danger. However, we must admit that radio beacons are not the most reliable devices. If the “black box” ends up under rubble or at great depths, the signal is extinguished, which greatly complicates the search.

How to say it in English?

In English-language sources, a “black box” can be called differently: flight recorder, blackbox and flight data recorder.

Sinking or not?

Another question that is especially relevant today: do “black boxes” sink? Almost all models of flight recorders sink. Usually, buoyancy is not specified in their parameters, but the parameter of being in sea water at a certain depth is specified. Thus, for the “black box” Bars-2M, information must be stored when in sea water at a depth of 1000 meters for 30 days.

How many “black boxes” are there on an airplane?

The number of recorders may vary on different types of aircraft. Typically this is an on-board storage device, which is used in everyday work, as well as a secure on-board storage device, which is the notorious “black box”. A separate unit contains a secure recorder of crew conversations and sounds in the cockpit. All technical parameters are recorded on the flight recorder relative to the time scale.

Are there any alternatives?

Still falling. It is logical to assume that “black boxes” are still not the most reliable devices in the world that can disrupt the sad statistics of plane crashes. Are there alternatives to them?

At the moment, there is no alternative to “black boxes”, but developments are constantly underway to improve recorders. In the near future, it is planned to transmit all flight recorder data in real time either to a satellite or to services at air bases.

In an interview with Newyorker, Steve Abdu, a Boeing 777 captain and partner at an aviation consulting firm, commented on the promise of such changes: "Sending black box data in real time would require expensive satellite communications, but you could send it at four to five minute intervals. Then it would reduce price and will increase the profitability of using the technology." Every day the number of satellites in Earth's orbit increases, so storing flight data on a “remote” device seems to be the most likely alternative to long searches and painstaking decoding of data.

To understand why the An-148 plane crashed in the Moscow region, black boxes will help. We found out what they are, what color they really are and why they don’t crash with the plane.

What is a black box on an airplane?

This name was given to on-board recorders - devices that record the operating parameters of all aircraft systems throughout the flight, as well as crew conversations. In fact, black boxes are installed not only on airplanes, but also on railway and water transport. If any emergency suddenly occurs, the data from the on-board recorders helps to find out the causes of the incident.

What color are black boxes really?

In fact, so-called black boxes are bright orange or red in color. It is this shade that is easiest to detect among the debris. Moreover, the “boxes” are not shaped like a box at all, but like a ball or a cylinder.

This device received the name “black box” because of its top secrecy: the first recorders could only be serviced by special employees. All details were strictly classified. Such measures were taken in order to ensure maximum objectivity in the investigation of disasters.

Why doesn't the black box collapse with the plane?

The fact is that these devices are made from titanium alloys. On the outside they are covered with a layer of asbestos. The result is a high-strength and heat-resistant material.

To make it easier to detect flight recorders; radio beacons and acoustic sound emitters are built into them. In the event of an accident, they turn on automatically.

And yet, sometimes the boxes get destroyed. However, they are designed in such a way that it is possible to restore at least part of the information.

How do black boxes work?

All data is recorded on flash drives (in modern models) or on magnetic media (metal wire or magnetic tape). This information can then be read and decrypted. By the way, the concept of “decipher” is used to mean “write off” or “count” - that is, convert data into text. In fact, there is no protection of data from outsiders in black boxes, because they are intended primarily to understand the causes of disasters and reduce their number, and not to hide data.

How many black boxes are there on the plane and what are they?

There are two types of on-board recorders: operational and emergency. Operational is needed so that ground personnel can control the actions of the crew. As a rule, it does not have special protection and therefore is often destroyed. It is located in the cockpit. The emergency recorder, as the name suggests, is used in disaster investigations. He has reliable protection. This recorder is located at the rear of the aircraft. Usually there are several black boxes in the liner. It is assumed that in the event of a disaster at least one will survive.

The Bild newspaper reports that a video recording was discovered at the crash site of the A320 plane that crashed in France, capturing the last seconds of the airliner’s flight, writes TASS.

According to the publication, the video shows that passengers on board flight 4U9525 understood the desperate situation they were in: frightened cries of people in different languages ​​can be heard. A knock can also be heard, and towards the end of the recording, the screams of dying people become louder.

Despite the poor quality of the recording, there is no doubt about its authenticity.

The newspaper also published information from the A320 “voice recorder,” which recorded sound in the cockpit.

According to the “black box” (the text in English is published by Ekho Moskvy), the plane took off at 10.00, and after 27 minutes reached an altitude of 38,000 feet (11,500 meters). Earlier, the first pilot told Lubitz that he forgot to go to the toilet before the flight. His assistant replied: “Go whenever you want.” Afterwards, he tried several more times to literally escort the captain out of the cockpit, promising to keep the flight under control.

At 10.28 the pilot got out and Andreas Lubitz clicked the lock so that the door could not be opened from the outside.

At 10.30 the sounds of the autopilot are heard - it is reprogrammed to speed up the descent of the airliner - to 100 feet (30 meters) in a matter of minutes.

At 10:33 the landing begins: the plane rapidly loses altitude - 3,000 feet (900 meters) per minute. Air traffic controllers realized something was wrong and tried to contact the plane, but Lubitz did not respond.

The captain is trying to get into the cockpit: “It’s me!” he shouts to Lubitz, but he does not react, although he sees the pilot on the screen. The captain takes an oxygen tank or fire extinguisher to break down the door, Lubitz remains silent. The captain shouts: “For God's sake, open the door!”, but Lubitz ignores the screams.

At 10:34 the first alarm goes off. Passengers' voices can be heard through the cockpit door. The captain asks for a crowbar - the one that was initially confused with a hatchet. Knocking on the door and metallic sounds are heard. The pilot tries to bend the door with a crowbar.

At 10:37 the second alarm goes off and Lubitz does not respond. The captain yells at the co-pilot and obscene language can be heard.

10:38 Lubitz put on his oxygen mask. He's breathing normally. Airplane at 13,000 feet (4,000 meters).

10:40 An alarm is heard, banging outside and screams inside. The plane crashes into the mountains at an altitude of 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) at a speed of 800 km/h.

Both recordings support the investigators' version that Lubitz deliberately closed the door to the cockpit and directed the plane up the mountain.

Earlier it became known that the operation to search and collect the remains of victims of the Germanwings A320 plane crash in the French Alps has been completed. Identification of the dead will be completed by the end of the week.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHANNEL!!! The last words of the Boeing crew that crashed in SOCHI have become known. They do not reveal the whole story of what happened, but they allow us to draw some conclusions. We return to the recent Boeing crash in Rostov-on-Don. This is a transcript of the last words of the plane's crew, a minute before impact with the ground. The document is not official, from sources in the investigation commission, where the information from the voice recorder was transferred to paper. Without claiming the truth - this will only be in the conclusions of the investigation - we will now try to simulate the situation that developed on board before the disaster. So, the FlyDubai Boeing-737-800 was unable to land in Rostov in difficult weather conditions and the aircraft commander, 37-year-old Aristos Socrates, decides to go around. At this time, the autopilot operates. Time 1 hour 40 minutes 00 seconds GMT. “We’re gaining 50,” this means going to a level of 1500 meters. The Boeing rises at an angle of 15 degrees, a completely normal mode. In these frames we see the plane going up, beyond the surveillance camera's view. The climb continues automatically for 40 seconds. Having not reached the flight level, the commander turns off the autopilot. The reason is not yet clear. Perhaps the plane fell into - in pilots' slang - atmospheric scissors; it could have been shaken violently. But it is from this second, after the autopilot is turned off, that the Boeing dives down. And here are the words from the transcript, translated by us into Russian for clarity, which sound in the cockpit: “Don’t worry, pull!” Time 1 hour 40 minutes and 40 seconds GMT. That is, the pilots could not do anything with the plane, which rushed its nose towards the ground. The experts' version is as follows. Having turned off the automation, the pilot tried to put the Boeing into level flight, but it was at that moment that the stabilizer switched into dive mode; it is located at the keel. In this mode, the elevator no longer has any effectiveness, the plane practically does not respond to the control wheel, and the pilots clearly did not understand that the stabilizer was to blame for the sharp dive. Why the stabilizer turned on in peak mode is a question. It is operated by a button that pilots call a “joystick.” That is, during turbulence, the commander, switching to manual mode, could accidentally catch this joystick, and did not notice, since he had previously complained of chronic fatigue. Otherwise, this is some kind of unprecedented automation surprise. For the last six seconds, in the cockpit, according to our source, inhuman screams have been heard. The plane accelerates into the ground at 1 hour 41 minutes and 00 seconds GMT. All 62 people died. Let us repeat once again that official conclusions about the causes of the disaster can only be drawn based on the results of the investigation.

The recorder itself is, in general, a simple device: it is an array of flash memory chips and a controller and is fundamentally not much different from the SSD drive in your laptop. True, flash memory is used in recorders relatively recently, and there are now many aircraft in the air equipped with older models that use magnetic recording - on tape, as in tape recorders, or on wire, as in the very first tape recorders: wire is stronger than tape, and therefore more reliable.

The main thing is that all this stuffing should be properly protected: the completely sealed case is made of titanium or high-strength steel, inside there is a thick layer of thermal insulation and damping materials. According to the website, there is a special FAA standard TSO C123b/C124b, which modern recorders comply with: data must remain safe under overloads of 3400G for 6.5 ms (fall from any height), full fire coverage within 30 minutes (fire from ignition fuel when an aircraft collides with the ground) and being at a depth of 6 km for a month (if an aircraft falls into water anywhere in the World Ocean, except for depressions, the probability of falling into which is statistically low).

By the way, regarding falling into water: recorders are equipped with ultrasonic beacons that turn on upon contact with water. The lighthouse emits a signal at a frequency of 37,500 Hz, and, having found this signal, the recorder can easily be found at the bottom, from where it is retrieved by divers or remotely controlled robots for underwater work. It is also not difficult to find a recorder on the ground: having discovered the wreckage of an airplane and knowing the locations of the recorders, it is enough, in fact, just to look around.

The case must have the inscription “Flight Recorder. Do not open" in English. There is often the same inscription in French; There may be inscriptions in other languages.

Where are the boxes located?

On an airplane, “black boxes” are located, as a rule, in the rear part of the fuselage, which is statistically smaller and least likely to be damaged in accidents, since the front part usually takes the impact. There are several recorders on board - it’s customary in aviation that all systems are backed up: the likelihood that none of them can be detected, and the data on those detected will be corrupted, is minimal.

At the same time, recorders also differ in the data recorded in them.

Emergency recorders, which are sought after after disasters, are parametric (FDR) and voice (CVR).

In addition to conversations between crews and dispatchers, the voice recorder also stores ambient sounds (4 channels in total, recording duration is the last 2 hours), and parametric recorders record information from various sensors - from coordinates, heading, speed and pitch to the revolutions of each engine. Each parameter is recorded several times per second, and with rapid changes, the recording frequency increases. Recording is carried out cyclically, as in car video recorders: new data overwrites the oldest. At the same time, the cycle duration is 17-25 hours, that is, it is guaranteed to be enough for any flight.

Voice and parametric recorders can be combined into one, but in any case the recordings are precisely time-bound. Meanwhile, parametric recorders do not record all flight parameters (although now there are at least 88 of them, and more recently, before 2002, there were only 29), but only those that can be useful in investigating disasters. Full “logs” (2,000 parameters) of what is happening on board are recorded by operational recorders: their data is used to analyze the actions of pilots, repair and maintenance of the aircraft, etc. - they have no protection, and after a disaster, data from them can no longer be obtained.

How to decrypt a black box?

The need to decrypt data from black boxes is as much a myth as the idea that the boxes are black.

The fact is that the data is not encrypted in any way, and the word “decryption” is used here in the same meaning as journalists deciphering a recording of an interview. The journalist listens to the voice recorder and writes the text, and a commission of experts reads the data from the media, processes it and writes it down in a form convenient for analysis and perception. That is, there is no encryption: the data can be read at any airport, there is no protection of data from prying eyes. And since black boxes are designed to analyze the causes of plane crashes in order to reduce the number of accidents in the future, there is no special protection against data modification. In the end, if the true causes of the disaster need to be kept silent or distorted for political or some other reasons, then one can always claim that the recorders were severely damaged and that it was impossible to read all the data.

source in English - Encylopedia Britannica

True, in case of damage (and they are not so rare - about a third of all disasters), the data can still be restored - and the fragments of the tape are glued together, and also treated with a special compound, and the contacts of the surviving microcircuits are soldered in order to connect them to the reader: the process is complex, it takes place in special laboratories and may take longer.