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clock-iconPUBLISHEDJuly 4, 2016

What's Actually Inside A "Black Box" Flight Recorder?

Tom Hale headshot

Tom Hale

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture.

Senior Journalist

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture.View full profile

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture.

View full profile
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What's Inside?/YouTube

Flight recorders, also known as a plane's "black box”, can withstand jet-fuel fires and thousands of Gs of impact. So it's no surprise that few people have actually seen what’s inside these enigmatic boxes.

The father-son duo from Youtube channel What's Inside? decided to go against the “DO NOT OPEN” warning on the front of a box to unravel its secrets with a chop saw. First mystery revealed: Flight recorders are not actually black anymore. After all, if you’re looking for a small box in the aftermath of an air crash, it’s probably best to make it as easy as possible to see.

In the video, once they begin sawing, it generates so much friction they have to spray it with water to cool it down – a testament to how tough these boxes are. But eventually, they manage to slice through the numerous layers of metal and protective padding.

When the deed was done, they were left with a cross-section of the device and even managed to get into the electronics deeply embedded within it. Check out what they found in the video below.


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