CANBERRA – An Australian scientist who invented the flight-data recorder famously known as the “black box” to help investigate aircraft accidents has died at the age of 85, defence officials said yesterday.
David Warren, whose own father was killed in a plane crash in 1934 in Australia, was a research scientist at the Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne. He came up with the idea of a crash- and fire-proof machine to record the crew’s voices and instrument readings after helping to investigate the mysterious crash of the world’s first jet airliner, the Comet, in 1953.
Warren designed and built the world’s first flight-data record prototype in 1956 which became known as the “black box”. But it took five years before the value and practicality of his invention was realised.
It took another five years until authorities ruled that the flight-data recorders should be fitted to cockpits in Australian aircraft.
“The modern-day equivalent of Dr Warren’s device, installed in passenger airlines around the world, is a testament to his pioneering work,” said a statement from the Australian department of defence. “It is now also used in other forms of road transport to capture information in the lead-up to accidents. Dr Warren’s flight-data recorder has made an invaluable contribution to safety in world aviation.”
Warren was appointed an officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia in 2002 for service to the aviation industry.
In 2008, Australia’s national carrier, Qantas, named an Airbus A380 aircraft in his honour.
Warren, who died on Monday, is survived by his wife Ruth, four children and seven grandchildren. – (Reuters)