invented the black box,David Warren may never be a household name

invented the black box,David Warren may never be a household name

black box,

These days, one of the first things investigators look for in a plane crash is the  black box  flight recorder.

black box,

Given the media attention surrounding these events, it's not surprising the general public is aware of the term black box and understands how important the device is.

black box,

Yet, despite the wide use of the term, and the fact the technology has saved hundreds if not thousands of lives, many people are unaware that the black box was invented in Australia.



Even fewer know the name of the black box's Australian inventor.



A 50-year wait for recognition



David Warren was first officially recognised in 1999, and in 2002 was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia  AO  for his "service to the aviation industry, particularly through the early conceptual work and prototype development of the black box flight data recorder



The lapse of time since he first documented the idea in 1954 is hard to explain.



 And that, more than anything else probably contributed to the lapse of 50 years before he was officially recognised



David's daughter Jenny Warren, puts it this way: "Part of the difficulty with recognising Dad is that he did argue with the system. He argued with people, and he felt that people or the system as it stood — suppressed him.



Another reason for his lack of recognition is the fact that David Warren worked for the Aeronautical Research Laboratory  ARL now part of the Defence Science and Technology Group, for most of his career, from 1952 to 1981.

Bill Schofield was a former director of the Aeronautical and Maritime Research Laboratory and spent 37 years at DSTO.



When asked why it took so long for David Warren to be recognised, his first response is That's not a scientific question that I can answer, actually



 They are also thankful that it happened before David died in 2010, and that he got to see his invention mandated in commercial planes all over the world.



"For many scientists and people of vision, their visions aren't necessarily brought to fruition in their lifetime and he was very lucky that this one particular vision was   says Peter Warren.



Mr Schofield describes the black box as  one of the most important developments Australia's ever made



 Air flight around the world is doubling every 10 years. The absolute number of people killed in commercial air crashes continues to reduce to very small numbers  he said