How Black Boxes Can Reveal What Happened To MH370
Geege Schuman stashed this in International Incidents
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To make sure investigators get that information, the FDR and CVR are remarkably robust. According to the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), both units can handle:
- acceleration up to 3,400 g (3,400 times the intensity of gravity on Earth)
- an hour in temperatures up to 1,100° C (2,012° F)
- a month in water six miles deep
No surprise the units survive nearly 100% of crashes. The units on Air France 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, were found about two years later and worked fine.
Black boxes can't be disabled by the pilots, Steve Abdu, a 777 captain for a major carrier, told Business Insider. That's good news for those who believe someone on board Malaysia 370 hijacked the plane and disabled its communication systems to hide their actions.
8:14 AM Mar 21 2014