How Does a Black Box Survive a Plane Crash?

Despite the name, "black boxes" are actually bright orange for visibility. Each aircraft carries two: the flight data recorder (FDR), which logs over 1,000 parameters (altitude, speed, control inputs), and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), which captures the last two hours of crew audio. Both are housed in crash-survivable memory units built to endure an impact of 3,400 g, a penetration force equivalent to a 230 kg weight dropped from 3 metres, fire at 1,100°C for one hour, and immersion at 6,000 metres depth for 30 days. An underwater locator beacon (pinger) activates on contact with water, transmitting at 37.5 kHz for at least 90 days to help search teams find wreckage.