What’s an Airplane’s Black Box Really Like ?

After an airplane crash, experts always search for the black box to understand what went wrong. The black box records all the sounds, engine data, and conversations from the cockpit before the accident. It helps in investigating the cause of the crash.

The black box is a small, strong metal box with two main devices inside. One records the voices in the cockpit, and the other keeps track of data from the plane’s engines and sensors. Every 30 minutes, it deletes the old data and records the latest. So, the last 30 minutes before the crash are saved. Even when the entire plane is destroyed in a crash, the black box survives. It's protected by aluminum around its chip and has a 1-inch-thick silicone outer cover that doesn’t melt in heat. The whole thing is kept inside a steel case.

Fun fact: Although it’s called a “black box,” modern ones are actually bright orange so they can be easily spotted. The name “black box” came during World War II, when British engineers used black, non-reflective boxes to keep delicate electronic parts. Today, even some cars have black boxes too!