Meet the man who invented the Black Box

Bert Naik / Khaleej Times
Bert Naik is the President, The Mangalorean Catholic Association of Victoria, Australia

May 27, 2010

Just two days after the plane crash at Mangalore, I had the great fortune of meeting a gentleman who was struck by a similar calamity when he was only nine years of age. His 11-year old brother Bill came to tell him at a hostel in Launceston, Tasmania, that the plane his father Hubert was travelling by had disappeared. Days later some floating luggage was found. But no sign of any of the travellers.

Dr David Warren (85), a much decorated man for his concept and design of the “Black Box” (which he likes to repeat was red: “I painted it myself”), and his ever attentive and articulate wife of 62 years, Ruth, welcomed me and my son Brian warmly.

What was planned to be a 5 minute talk, ended up being a 90 minute reminiscing of the journey of life by a most inspiring couple. A few excerpts of our conversation below for KT readers:

BN: Did you hear about the recent mishap with an aircraft in India, Dr Warren?

Dr David Warren (DW): Yes I have. Wasn’t it just off the coast, somewhere in the south of India?

BN: Yes, indeed. I happen to come from that general area. In fact, the very locality where the plane crashed, Kenjar, was settled by my forefathers since early 1700s. My great-grandfather moved away from that place in about 1878.

Ruth Warren (RW): We saw that on TV. Very sad to hear that so many people died.

BN: Were you always interested in science, Dr Warren?

DW: Science was always my favourite subject.

RW: David had a great love for all sorts of gadgets. His father had given him a crystal set radio. David loved it so much that he learnt how to make similar sets. He sold a few to his mates at school. But his big dream was to become the youngest radio ham. That dream was shattered when the war (World War II) started and the Government banned the ham activity completely.

But during all these years, his mind kept going back to the air-crash involving his father.

He was obsessed with the desire to know what people would have been saying moments before a plane crashed. He kept dreaming of capturing those voices.

Then there was a major plane crash in 1954 (BOAC Comet), followed by another one shortly thereafter. Everyone wanted to know why these planes crash?

By this time, David was the Principal Research Scientist at the Government’s Aeronautical Research Laboratories (ARL) in Melbourne. David provided his view to the Government that a flight voice recorder would have provided some answers. And that he was willing to provide his ideas to develop a device.

No one took him seriously. People actually laughed at the ideas. David was particularly hurt by the constant comments from the people in authority: “Don’t be silly. If there was any merit in it, the Yanks (Americans) would have come up with one already”. The ridicule was coming from the older people. The younger people, on the other hand, thought that David was a genius.

DW: No one wanted to listen to me. It was not easy coming up with an idea for a portable device. Portable at that time was something that you transported on a lorry.

RW: There was no support whatsoever from anyone.

What hurt David even further was the ‘ban’ imposed on his activities. The superintendent at ARL knew that David was spending some time at lunch-breaks on his pet project. One day the superintendent called him in. “If I find you talking to anyone including me, about this matter again, I will have to sack you”. As if this was not bad enough to David’s motivation, there was no supporting technology. How do you actually record voices over some hours on something durable that could withstand fire? David had almost given up. Then he saw through a shop window a most amazing gadget. The Minifon designed in West Germany.

The Minifon could record voices for up to four hours, on fine metallic wires. David made up his mind to buy one. But how could we? It was an extremely difficult decision for the family. I had just delivered the third child. He went about and bought one any way (1956).

(Minifon was sold for about US$300. The equivalent cost today is estimated to be about $15,000. One can see that Mrs Warren is still pained with the thoughts of personal sacrifices made by the family at a very difficult time). By the end of 1956 David’s prototype of the flight recorder was ready.

Of course, he just could not speak about it to anyone 
in Australia.

An amazing event happened in 1958. ARL had a distinguished visitor from England. The superintendent of ARL brought the visitor to see David. “This gentleman wants to have a word with you” said the superintendent to David and left. The visitor asked David to show him his invention. David was over the moon. At last someone showing some interest!

The visitor, Air Vice Marshal Sir Robert Hardingham, Secretary of the UK Air Registration Board, instructed the superintendent: “Put this young lad on a plane to England immediately”.

David received full support in the United Kingdom. The Government there provided all the help he could wish for. A factory improved upon the original design and produced some units. The flight recorder was painted red, and was called the Red Egg by the factory hands.

Within a span of two years, England and several other countries started fitting the Red Egg on to their airplanes.

David returned to Australia to a hero’s welcome. He was given four helpers to continue his research and development at ARL. But the government still continued to ignore the pleas to install the flight recorder on Australian airplanes. In 1960, shortly after David returned from England, a plane travelling from England to Australia via India crashed.

Everyone wanted to know the cause of the crash. An inquiry was held. The recommendation was that speech recorders be installed in all the Australian airplanes.

But the Government did not still recognise David’s work. A contract was given to an American company to develop such a device. But there were long delays. In fact, Americans were among the last in the world to see the merit in such a device.

Then there was one more crash in Australia in 1967.

Australia immediately passed an order that all Australian aircraft fit the data and voice flights recorders (they were part of a single device then) immediately. In doing so, Australia became the first country in the world to adopt such a practice.

DW (addressing Brian): If you have an idea, do not take it to the older people. They will discourage you. Show it to the younger people. If they say that is a good idea, keep working on it until you succeed.

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