Malaysian Airlines MH370 --- Black Box.

This is just my way of sharing the thought on the disappearance of Malaysian jetliner MH370 which has come to its fifth day today.

This excerpt from National Geographic Channel on Air Crash Investigation.

WHAT IS A BLACK BOX?Often one of the first pieces of techno-speak that springs to mind when we hear of an aviation disaster - and a catch-all phrase popular with the media - is ‘Black Box,’ but how much do you really know about these vital pieces of equipment?
Any commercial aeroplane or corporate jet is required to be equipped with a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder. It is these two items of separate equipment which we commonly refer to as a ‘Black Box.’ While they do nothing to help the plane when it is in the air, both these pieces of equipment are vitally important should the plane crash, as they help crash investigators find out what happened just before the crash.
Often, for example when a plane crashes into the sea, as happened with the 1985 bombing of Air India flight 182 by Sikh terrorists over the Atlantic Ocean just west of Ireland, investigators have very little to go on – on this specific occasion the plane crashed before the pilot could even issue a mayday signal and much of the debris sank into the sea, leaving few clues.
Today, the Black Box is still just as vitally important in helping piece together the causes of a plane crash, as seen by the discovery of the Black Box in the Mexico plane crash that killed fourteen, including the interior minister of Mexico on 4th November, 2008.
To help locate the cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder in the aftermath of a plane crash that occurs at sea, each recorder has a device fitted to it known as an Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB). The device is activated as soon as the recorder comes into contact with water and it can transmit from a depth as deep as 14,000 feet. Also, to help investigators find them; a Black Box is not actually black at all, but bright orange.
All recorders undergo countless tests. For example, one Black Box recorder, the L-3 FA 2100 underwent testing that includes exposure to a 1,110°C fire for an hour and 260°C heat for 10 hours. It is also able to operate between -55° to +70°C and it can carries a minimum 25 hours of flight data.

WHO INVENTED THE BLACK BOX?
The Black Box was first invented by a young Australian scientist named Dr. David Warren. While Warren was working at the Aeronautical Research Laboratory in Melbourne in the mid-1950s he was involved in the accident investigation surrounding the mysterious crash of the world’s first jet-powered commercial aircraft, the Comet. Realising that it would have been useful for investigators if there had been a recording of what had happened on the plane just before the crash, he got to work on a basic flight data recorder. The first demonstration unit was produced in 1957, but it was not until 1960, after an unexplained plane crash in Queensland, that Australia became the first country in the world to make the Black Box mandatory for all commercial aircraft.

THE COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER
The main purpose of the Cockpit Voice Recorder is, unsurprisingly, to record what the crew say and monitor any sounds that occur within the cockpit. While investigators might be interested in any witty banter between pilots that went on just before an explosion or plane malfunction, trained investigators are keen to pick up on sounds such as engine noise, stall warnings or emergency pings and pops. Investigators are so skilled that they are then able to work out crucial flight information such as the speed the plane was travelling and engine rpm and can sometimes pinpoint the cause of a crash from the very sounds the plane was making before it crashed. The Cockpit Voice Recorder is also extremely important for determining the timing of events as it contains information such as communication between the crew and ground control and other aircraft. The Cockpit Voice Recorder is usually located in the tail of a plane.

THE FLIGHT DATA RECORDER
Of equal, if not more significance to the Cockpit Voice Recorder, is the Flight Data Recorder. This piece of equipment is essential to the work of Air Crash Investigators as it records the many different operating functions of a plane all at once, such as the time, altitude, airspeed and direction the plane is heading. But these are just the primary functions of the recorder, in fact, modern Flight Data Recorders are able to monitor countless other actions undertaken by the plane, such as the movement of individual flaps on the wings, auto-pilot and fuel gauge. Information stored in the Flight Data Recorder of a plane that has crashed is invaluable for investigators in their search for determining what caused a specific crash. The data stored on the recorders helps Air Crash Investigators generate computer video reconstructions of a flight, so that they can visualise how a plane was handling shortly before a crash.
The Flight Data Recorder and the Cockpit Voice Recorder are invaluable tools for Air Crash Investigators worldwide and will continue to play a major role in finding out the causes of aviation accidents, as well as offering plane manufacturers and government’s considerable ideas to help make air travel as safe as possible.

THE FUTURE OF THE BLACK BOX
As technology continues to develop it is likely that Black Boxes, or flight data recorders, will become more and more sophisticated and more reliable, giving Air Crash Investigators more to go on when painstakingly trying to piece together what caused a plane crash.
Potentially, the humble MP3 player – adored by music fans the world over - could become part of the flight data recording software. In 2007, US light aircraft manufacturer LoPresti Speed Merchants announced that it planned to fully integrate the device as flight data recorder on all of its Fury piston aircraft. The company believes that if suitable software was used then MP3s would be capable of recording over 500 hours of flight time data.

Malaysian Airlines MH370 Flight to China missing with 239 passenger and crew.

It was early morning here when I received a whats sup from my sister about the missing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 destined to Beijing went missing.
She was at the airport, just a couple of hour waiting for another flight out of Kuala Lumpur.

The flight MH370A carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew has gone missing after an hour departure ex Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Sepang Malaysia.

The Boeing 777-200 was en route from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to Beijing in China.

A statement from the airline said: "Malaysia Airlines confirms that flight MH370 has lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am, today (March 8 2014).

Flight MH370, operated on the B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am on March 8, 2014. MH370 was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day. The flight was carrying a total number of 227 passengers - including 2 infants - 12 crew members.

Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.

Qatar declines tit-for-tat diplomatic withdrawals amid GCC row.

Following three GCC countries’ decision to withdraw their top diplomats from Doha today, the Qatar government has said it will not recall its ambassadors from the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the dramatic move.
In a joint statement, the three countries said Qatar was not keeping its promise to adhere to a Gulf-wide security pact signed last November, which pledged non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. 

This afternoon, Qatar’s Cabinet expressed “surprise and regret” at the public rebuke, which is the biggest diplomatic challenge Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has faced since becoming Emir last summer.
While symbolically embarrassing, analysts say the decision is of little practical significance. The key question is whether this move is simply a show of disapproval for Qatar’s foreign policy, or a signal of intensifying tensions that could lead to, for example, Saudi Arabia tightening its land border or closing its airspace. 

“If this is part of an escalation, then it is very concerning. If it is just for demonstrative effect, then it doesn’t really matter,” said David Roberts, a lecturer at King’s College London and author of the soon-to-be released book, Qatar: Securing the Global Ambitions of a City-state. 

So far, on the ground in Doha, there hasn’t been much impact. The UAE embassy told Doha News that it’s been without an ambassador since December.
Bahrain’s top diplomat in Qatar flew home Tuesday for “personal reasons,” a spokesperson said. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador was still in the country on Wednesday.
This sort of diplomatic row isn’t without repercussions. In the mid-2000s, Qatar went several years without a permanent ambassador from KSA in Doha, Roberts said.
He added that the next move is likely to come from Kuwait, which – like Oman – did not withdraw its ambassadors. Both have a history of acting independently from Riyadh, Roberts said. 

In a statement published Wednesday afternoon, Kuwait’s parliamentary speaker said he hoped Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah would “continue his efforts at ironing out the existing differences among members of the GCC.”
He also expressed optimism that the diplomatic dispute was nothing more “than a passing summer cloud.”
Meanwhile, Oman’s official news agency did not make any mention of the day’s events.
The governments of the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia did not provide specific reasons for withdrawing their ambassadors beyond saying in a joint statement this morning that the measure was necessary “to protect their security and stability.”
That reason was contested by Qatar’s Cabinet in its official response:
“This has nothing to do with the interests, security and stability of GCC peoples, but rather a difference in positions on issues out of the (GCC).” 

Many interpret today’s row to be the result of the countries’ different positions on Egypt. Qatar’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted president Mohamed Mursi have put it offside with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, both of which support the current regime.
A related irritant in GCC relations has been local religious scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi, who has harshly criticized Egypt’s military-backed government. 

Last month, the UAE summoned Qatar’s ambassador in Abu Dhabi to deliver “an official protest memorandum” over remarks Al Qaradawi made. During a broadcast January sermon, the scholar criticized the UAE’s support for the current Egyptian government.
Speaking to Al Jazeera English, Nasser Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Qatar’s former ambassador to the US and the United Nations, said:
“These three countries – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – want to keep the Arab world in their hold. They want them to stay weak (and) controlled by dictators.
These countries are supporting a coup d’etat, with thousands of Egyptians being killed in front of the whole world and they want Qatar to support such policies.”

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