AVIATION enthusiasts could take a sneak peek into the past as well as the future as parts of flight recorders recovered from horrific accidents as well as the sleek, new black boxes of the future were showcased at the Bahrain International Airshow (BIAS) 2022 that concluded yesterday.
According to an expert, smarter and leaner black boxes are replacing the traditional bulky ones, making the aviation sector safer for generations to come.
Saudi Arabia Aviation Investigation Bureau (AIB) cockpit and flight recorder expert Ghazi Al Harbi, who was here to attend the show, said the agency had recorded around six accidents and a lot of incidents in the sky during the last five years.
The orange-coloured black box is a term used to call two separate pieces of equipment – a cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and a flight data recorder (FDR).
Black box information storage devices are compulsory on all commercial and corporate flights. They are usually located in the aircraft’s tail, where they are more likely to survive a crash.
The CVR and FDR are the components of the black box which comes with various options in terms of recording.
“The old type of taped flight recorders or black boxes were bulky, non-reliable and came with not many parameters to be recorded, which limited the data that it could help with,” Mr Al Harbi told the GDN.
“Whereas in modern aircraft, there are the smarter versions with multiple devices to carry out the task it is meant to do, with a lot more efficiency. So more information will be available to investigators in the event of a crash.
“Nowadays, FDRs are encased in strong, corrosion-resistant stainless steel or titanium boxes, and are wrapped in insulation that can withstand high temperatures.
“Modern FDRs also have an underwater locator beacon that emits an ultrasonic ping to help locate it. These beacons can work at a depth of up to 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) for 30 days.”
Mr Al Harbi said the AIB has been investigating all incidents, irrespective of their impact.
“AIB has investigated around six accidents and several incidents in the past five years,” said Mr Al Harbi, showing parts of black boxes that were recovered from crashes over the years.
“Accidents are those that result in deaths and lead to complete destruction of the machine. Then we have serious incidents where there is damage, but no fatalities.
“We investigate them all to avoid any incidents in future – we learn from mistakes.”
Commenting on the GCC aviation sector, he said co-operation amongst countries was helpful for the streamlined functioning in the sector.
&uuid=(email))