The flight data recorder, commonly known as the black box, is one of the most impactful inventions in the history of aviation. Before its invention, after an airplane crash, nearly nothing could or would be found out about the origins or reasons for the crash. Each situation would bring endless questions and very few answers. Even if there were eyewitnesses on the ground, or survivors from the crash itself, very little could be pieced together about how a crash came to happen. The most significant thing to come from a crash is always what can be learned from it to prevent further crashes and tragedies, which could never be discovered before the invention of the black box. The flight data recorder has saved millions of lives by providing crucial …show more content…
Another example leads from the USAir Flight 427 crash, in which all 132 people on board died. The plane manufacturer blamed the pilots, and the airline blamed the plane. The black box recording showed that a jammed valve caused the rudder to reverse direction, meaning that when the pilot tried to correct it to the right, it went left. As a result, Boeing went in and made the proper change on all 2800 of its aircraft in use at the time- an act that probably saved millions more lives. The black box was the reason that they were able to figure out what actually happened on that plane, and make sure any further tragedies were prevented. On Adam Air Flight 574 in 2007, the pilots lost control of the aircraft after accidentally turning off the autopilot system while trying to fix the GPS. The result was a complete overhaul of the safety procedures of the aviation industry in Indonesia. Every plane crash has a black box that can be recovered and has data that we can learn from- these are just a few examples of the massive impact the invention of the black box has had on modern air …show more content…
Their device was able to take photographs of the flight parameters, but because they had to be replaced and could not be recycled, was only used for occasional test flights. The next rendition of the black box was created by Len Harrison and Vic Husband during World War II. Theirs was the first that had any protection for the device in the event that the plane crashed, so the information wouldn’t be damaged. Harrison and Husband’s device recorded flight data by indenting on copper foil. The modern black box was created by David Warren in Australia in 1958. His version could record both voices in the cockpit and in-flight instrument data. It was fitted with a fire- and shock-proof casing. The most important advancement, though, was the ability to reuse and recycle black boxes. The recordings could be overwritten on a continuous 30-minute loop, which allowed for the recording devices to be able to be mass produced without much maintenance. In 1960, Australia became the first country to require flight recording systems in all commercial aircraft, after a major crash that resulted in an inconclusive investigation. The hope was that in the future, it would be easier to pinpoint the exact reason for each crash and be able to learn from them in the future. As time went on, black boxes were improved upon to be able to withstand pressure when underwater in the
the arrest of a man who murdered and buried his wife. The technology did end up saving lives
Edison got his idea for the recorder when he worked as a telegraph operator at the Western Union office in Indianapolis. He figured out that during a night shift he could couple together two old Morse registers to capture incoming codes for later retrieval. He could sleep during his shift and catch up on messages later. (RCA Online 2)
Automation goes further than the tedious manual tasks of manufacturing. In his article “The Great Forgetting” Nicolas Carr examines how automation has contributed to plane crashes over the past few years. He noted that automation, has turned pilots into computer operators. Because the pilots are not doing many of the manual tasks on a regular basis, they do not develop the deep skills required to deal with instrument malfunctions. Since their skills are not exercised when a malfunction does occur, the pilot often makes an error in response while trying to correct the situation.
According to “A Human Error Approach to Aviation Accident Analysis…”, both authors stated that HFACS was developed based off from the Swiss Cheese model to provide a tool to assist in the investigation process to identify the probable human cause (Wiegmann and Shappell, 2003). Moreover, the HFACS is broken down into four categories to identify the failure occur. In other words, leading up to adverse events the HFACS will identify the type error occur.
With the use of airplanes as a common method of travel, in-flight safety should be a top priority for both airplane manufacturers and the companies that operate them. There should be an emphasis on updating aircraft technology to enhance passenger safety and provide an understanding of failures during flight. Today, during a crash or major in-flight incident, important aircraft information is recorded to a flight data recorder commonly referred to as the black box. Airplanes are generally equipped with two flight data recorders which may be in the same black box unit or separate black boxes. There are “two separate pieces of equipment – a cockpit voice recorder, which records all of the sound and conversations that happen in the cockpit, and a flight data recorder, which records the planes operating functions” (Bogart). This recorded information is critical to the improvement and advancement of safety policies and procedures. Unfortunately, many times the aircraft or flight data recorder is unrecoverable or the information recorded is limited. The lack of proper in-flight data recording and recovery systems prohibits critical data collected during an accident from reaching airplane manufacturers, which limits the ability to improve the safety of each airplane. The loss of such data also limits institutions from implementing new training and policies for pilots and crews that would result in overall improved flight safety. The need for more reliable and advanced in-flight data recording and recovery systems is essential to the overall safety of commercial air travel.
The NCR ‘390’ computer was a low-cost, mass-marketed computer that used punched tape recorders for original data
Air Crash Investigations: Cockpit Failure (S10E01). (2014, March 5). Retrieved May 19, 2014, from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1FG8gOKMoo
Smith, Patrick. "The Untold Story of the Concorde Disaster." Ask The Pilot. Aerophilia Enterprises, 9 Dec. 2012. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. .
According the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Aircraft Accident Report, determines that the probable cause of the Flight 811 was sudden opening of the forward lower lobe cargo door in flight and subsequent explosive decompression, (NTSB,1989). In figure 1, depicted the damage of Flight 811 when it landed.
Safety in the ethics and industry of aerospace technology is of prime importance for preventing tragic malfunctions and crashes. Opposed to automobiles for example, if an airplane breaks down while in mid-flight, it has nowhere to go but down. And sadly it will often go down “hard” and with a high probability of killing people. The Engineering Code of Ethics states first and foremost that, “Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public.” In the aerospace industry, this as well holds very true, both in manufacturing and in air safety itself. Airline safety has recently become a much-debated topic, although arguments over air safety and travel have been going ...
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the flightcrew to monitor the flight instrument during the final 4 minutes of flight, and to detect an unexpected descent soon enough to prevent impact with the ground. Preoccupation with a malfunction of the nose landing gear position indicating system distracted the crew's attention from the instruments and allowed the descent to go unnoticed.
The cylinder phonograph proved to be successful, but the problem with the machine was that the tin foil only allowed a few uses. With the help of another great inventor, new advances could be made to improve this invention. The inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, had set up a laboratory for his cousin, Chichester Bell and Charles Tainter. Bell a...
Another technological advance that we entrust our safety to, that failed us was airport security system. Those men managed to get past out high tech security systems and onto those planes. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives because some men out smarted out fool proof system. The creators of airport security must have been unfamiliar with the saying, "where there’s a will, there’s a way". No one wants to admit to himself or herself, or anyone else for that matter, that sick people who thrive on pain and suffering, really do exist. Because airport security creators didn’t think about this fact, or they thought about it and chose to ignore it, innocent people lost their lives.
A few years later in 1971, Wozniak read an article on how some people were able to mimic a certain 2600 Hertz tone by using call-routing switches. This allowed a free, long-distance phone call. This illegal device was called a “Blue Box”. Wozniak immediately called Jobs and their enthusiasm for this interesting, unusual device evolved. The pair began to construct a digital version right away. At first, the two boys had fun pranking people with the Blue Box, but Jobs soon suggested they make a profit off of it. Jobs and Wozniak built about one hundred boxes and then sold them for around $150 each. This experience of building, marketing, and selling the boxes fores...
As the development of aviation industry grows, more and more aircraft crashes occur. There are many reasons that lead to aircraft crashes, but one of them, is because of improper aircraft maintenance. Why is proper aircraft maintenance so important? Proper aircraft maintenance is critical in order to keep the aircraft can function properly, every aircraft part is in good condition and ensure the safety of pilots and passengers. Proper maintenance has many parts. The most common part is inspections, which pilots do them every day; the main part is overhaul and repair of an aircraft; and maintenance documentation is another important part of aircraft maintenance which improper maintenance documentation has caused many incidents.