FAA Mandates Black Box Upgrade

Usually orange in color to make it easier to find in the event of a crash, the Black Box, containing a cockpit voice recorder and digital flight data recorder, has proven invaluable in analyzing the cause of many airplane disasters. Some nine years after the National Transportation Safety Board put forth recommendations for the improvement of the Black Box, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is mandating that existing equipment be replaced with more up-to-date technology.

The Invention of the Black Box

Some inventions result from a need to construct something specific, some are stumbled across and some are born from personal loss and tragedy. It was because of a devastating plane crash in Australia that the Black Box, or Flight Data Recorder, was first imagined. It was invention that no-one knew they needed and that would become instrumental in saving many lives.