Flight recorder

An aircraft-mounted device that records flight data, cockpit audio, or both. Investigators use its recordings to reconstruct accidents and incidents.

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Flight data recorder: A recorder that stores measurements of an aircraft’s operation, such as altitude, speed, and control positions. It captures the aircraft’s changing state for reconstruction.
Aircraft accident investigation: A systematic inquiry into an aircraft accident’s circumstances and causes. Flight recorder evidence is central to reconstructing many accidents.
David Warren: An Australian scientist who developed an early practical flight recorder concept in the 1950s. His work linked cockpit sound and flight data to accident investigation.
Cockpit video recorder: A system that records images inside an aircraft cockpit. Unlike standard cockpit voice recorders, it preserves visual evidence.
Cockpit voice recorder: A recorder that stores cockpit audio, including crew speech and radio transmissions. Its audio can establish what the crew heard, said, and did.
National Transportation Safety Board: A United States federal agency that investigates transportation accidents and issues safety recommendations. The NTSB analyzes recorder evidence in U.S. aviation investigations.
Hussenot recorder: An early French aircraft recorder that used photographic film to record flight parameters. It was a precursor to modern flight data recording.
Aircraft data link recorder: A system that records digital messages exchanged between an aircraft and ground stations. It preserves communications that may not appear in voice or parameter recordings.
Crash-survivable memory unit: A protected unit that stores recorder data and is designed to withstand severe impact, heat, and pressure. It helps preserve recordings when the aircraft is destroyed.
Air Accidents Investigation Branch: The United Kingdom’s specialist agency for investigating civil aviation accidents and serious incidents. The AAIB uses recorder evidence to establish how an occurrence unfolded.