The black box detaches itself from the plane - The key to the investigation after the accident

Following the incident with AirAsia's aircraft, the proposal to equip a separate black box for commercial aircraft may be placed on the airline's discussion table.

The black box is a device to store flight data and cockpit recording, an important key that can tell what happened to the aircraft. After searching for a difficult and expensive black box in the AF447 Atlantic crash, as well as the mystery of the flight MH370 earlier this year, this issue is becoming increasingly urgent.

According to the idea given by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for many years, commercial aircraft will be equipped with black boxes that can be separated from airplanes and float on the water when in distress. , instead of sinking as usual. This proposal will return to the agenda in February this year.

Design of a regular black box.(Photo: Electronics)

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After the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH470 in March last year, ICAO wishes to develop a global system to improve its ability to track the plane, quickly finding the location of the accident. . An unnamed ICAO representative said that it was time for data collection devices, which could be separated from the aircraft in trouble, were taken seriously.

According to another official of the organization, public interest in the past is also a motivational factor and a support for the idea of ​​installing this device on commercial aircraft.

"I think people have been more positive after some accidents in recent times," he said, referring to the recent case of AirAsia and Air France in 2009. Black box. Air France aircraft were found two years later.

In 2012, ICAO's flight data management agency proposed a new standard with the goal of simplifying the process of finding and locating distress. Detachable data receivers are one of many options offered. However, ICAO's Aviation Navigation Committee considers this standard to be reconsidered.

Anthony Philbin, a spokesman for ICAO, said the manuscript was returned in 2012 and 2013 because of the complexity of the problem.

ICAO was founded in 1947, based in Montreal, Canada. This is an organization of the United Nations, responsible for drafting and making aviation regulations around the world.

In the picture is part of the tail of the QZ8501 aircraft sunk under the Java Sea.Investigators hope to find a black box soon to clarify the cause of the disaster with AirAsia's aircraft.(Photo: AP)

Production expense

The removable data storage device was the invention of the Canadian National Research Commission in the 1960s. They were installed on fighter jets, including the US Navy's F / A-18. Smaller types like helicopters.

Military data collector detached from the plane and floated on the water, signaling the location for search and rescue satellites. Meanwhile, equipment on commercial aircraft will sink into the sea. Under water, they can only be detected at close distances.

On every modern commercial aircraft, there are two fixed receivers, called black boxes, including the Cockpit Recorder (CVR) and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR).

The self-detached black box is also installed in the tail section and can replace a device. However, this technology has not been tested on commercial aircraft due to lack of cost as well as political will.

A spokeswoman for Honeywell International Inc., one of the world's largest black box suppliers, said it did not produce a black box that could be separated because there was no demand from customers. Each conventional data recorder on Honeywell's aircraft costs between $ 13,000-16,000, while the detached version costs at least $ 30,000.

According to Blake van den Heuvel, director of aviation programs of DRS Technologies, Italy, the cost of higher detachment poses a problem for aircraft manufacturers and management organizations.