Mangalore crash: Eureka moment after recovery of Black Box

“The moment they found it they shouted in joy as if India won the World Cup for Cricket. I too felt the same way,” he said.

Scenes of jubilation were witnessed at the site of the Boeing 737-800’s crash near Bajpe airport,22 km from this coastal city after the Digital Flight Data recorder(DFDR) or the Black Box which can give vital clues on the cause of the crash was retrieved.

“It’s intact,” said a beaming Air India official G M Mathew,as he held the battered and slightly charred recorder aloft for media gathered at the hill-top crash site.

Eureka is derived from a Greek word to express triumph upon finding or discovering something.

The excitement among the investigators was understandable because the Black Box can help unravel the mystery why the Boeing 737-800 crashed amid various theories being propounded.

158 persons were killed in the crash last Saturday.

Following an accident,recovery of the ‘black box’ is second in importance only to the rescue of survivors and recovery of human remains.

The data recorded by the DFDR is used for accident investigation,as well as for analyzing air safety issues,material degradation and engine performance.

Due to their importance in investigating accidents,these International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)-regulated devices are carefully engineered and stoutly constructed to withstand the force of a high speed impact and the heat of an intense fire.

Contrary to the ‘black box’ reference,the exterior of the DFDR is coated with heat-resistant bright red paint for high visibility in wreckage,and the unit is usually mounted in the aircraft’s empennage (tail section),where it is more likely to survive a severe crash.