# Why Are We Still Looking For Black Boxes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730 "2009-06-04T18:52:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/61 "2009-06-05T14:07:08Z")
> [@](#): > > I guess he was meaning 9/11 to refer only to the two planes that hit the twin towers, not the other two 9/11 flights. Correct and sorry for the unclarity. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/62 "2009-06-05T15:40:04Z")
So many non-trivial reasons that you don’t want to eject the recorders… You lose data of the moments before impact The weight of an ejection mechanism is significant Miles of design, documentation, certification and testing An explosive ejection mechanism would be dangerous to maintenance personnel How many planes will be wrecked by ejectors mis-firing on the ground? As \*\*racer72 \*\*says, what extra space? And, one that I don;t think has been mentioned - we’re currently looking for the Air France recorders. Would you rather be looking for a large tail-shaped piece of airplane with your side-scan sonar, or a little shoebox-sized thing that fell in amid some rocks? Makes no difference that it’s bright orange at that depth - it’s all black down there. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/63 "2009-06-05T16:42:51Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > also on the unspoken grounds that about half the tapes end up showing the pilots chit chatting about the stewardesses’ dating habits instead of flying the plane. And my answer to that is: deal with it, my job doesn’t jeopardize 250 lives, and it’s not that hard to keep from gossipping about the flight attendants’ breasts. I’ve always gotten the impression that for much of the flight the pilots don’t really do much. Expecting them to remain dead silent for all that time is unrealistic. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/64 "2009-06-05T16:59:22Z")
I don’t know how things are when cruising, but during takeoff and landing, most airlines specifically ban non-work related chatting. There have been many accidents over the years where the CVRs had casual chatter in the minutes leading up to an accident. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/65 "2009-06-05T17:10:54Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I don’t know how things are when cruising, but during takeoff and landing, most airlines specifically ban non-work related chatting. There have been many accidents over the years where the CVRs had casual chatter in the minutes leading up to an accident. Yep. _E.g._: [http://www.airdisaster.com/download2/dl1141.shtml](http://www.airdisaster.com/download2/dl1141.shtml) [http://www.airdisaster.com/news/article.php?id=54](http://www.airdisaster.com/news/article.php?id=54) I wouldn’t banish them to absolute silence, but they do need to be ready at a moment’s notice, even during the long periods on autopilot, so having them on guard not to say anything they wouldn’t want played in public does not seem too harsh. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/66 "2009-06-05T19:43:35Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > So many non-trivial reasons that you don’t want to eject the recorders… > > You lose data of the moments before impact Actually, there have been a few cases of the things continuing to record for a few seconds _after_ a crash - lots of noise, then silence…_then_ the record stops. ---
**Author:** ![Animastryfe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Animastryfe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animastryfe)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/67 "2009-06-05T19:55:05Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > The ‘why don’t they make planes out of the same material as black boxes?’ inquiry was purely sarcasm. \* :: d&r::\* means ‘ducks and runs’. As in: makes funny comment we’ve heard way too often, and then ducks and runs as if we’re going to hit him for getting on our nerves with a tired question. Oh, I apologize. I haven’t seen the duck and run thing much before. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/68 "2009-06-06T08:00:01Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I wouldn’t banish them to absolute silence, but they do need to be ready at a moment’s notice, even during the long periods on autopilot, so having them on guard not to say anything they wouldn’t want played in public does not seem too harsh. But they already have that. They have a CVR that is recording everything they say. They’re happy with this on the basis that it’s only listened to after an accident, and that it is used to learn lessons rather than as evidence in a criminal prosecution. What is not ok is having ALL conversations sent ALL the time to someone who could conceivably use it for non safety purposes such as industrial relations. Pilots spend all their working life in an aeroplane, they need to be able to have natural conversations with their work colleagues. Chatting about shit keeps people awake and interested. Staring silently at the flight instruments just sends you to sleep. Having FDR information sent back is ok, but having CVR information sent back is not. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/69 "2009-09-19T17:01:59Z")
I hope this isn’t too zombie-ish, but I found it interesting: [http://digg.com/d313BLw](http://digg.com/d313BLw) ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2009, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730/70 "2009-09-20T05:11:35Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > I hope this isn’t too zombie-ish, but I found it interesting: > > [http://digg.com/d313BLw](http://digg.com/d313BLw) Thanks for the link . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-we-still-looking-for-black-boxes/498730.md?page=3)