Pretty much title. I’ve always wondered how those things can withstand massive crashes and explosions and still be reliable to retrieve recordings from.
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In addition to lots of really good comments here already, there’s really only one portion of the flight data recorder that *needs* to survive…the memory chips. Most modern FDRs use solid state memory, like a USB stick. Those are very small and *very* durable…outside fire or direct mechanical trauma they’re basically indestructible…you can use similar chips in artillery shells and they can survive the firing process. In the recorder, they’re encased in a large block of fire insulation that’s inside an armored can that’s mounted in the most protected part of the airplane they can find.
Having the whole recorder intact makes getting the data off easier but as long as the memory chips themselves survive you can recover the data…several global investigation agencies (notably the French & Americans) and the FDR manufacturers are *extremely* good at recovering data from even damaged chips.
So in order to lose the data completely you have to crash hard enough to physically crush the airplane structure then the armored can *and* burn it for long enough to compromise the fire insulation. Or just lose the recorder entirely, which sometimes happens…which is why it’s painted blaze orange with reflective stripes and has a sonar “pinger” to help find it if it’s underwater.
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