GPS and other tracking devices make it much easier to know where a plane is if it crashes over land. For that reason, the black box does not emit a signal and relies on it being discovered by investigators.
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In the event of a crash at sea, flight recorders are equipped with a sonar device that is designed to emit an ultrasonic locator signal for at least 30 days.
Flight recorders are normally located near the aircraft's tail, as experience has shown that this area generally suffers the least damage during an accident. Flight recorders are designed to survive both high-speed impact and post-impact fire. They are, however, not invulnerable and are sometimes destroyed.
An aircraft actually has two black boxes. One is a flight data recorder, which stores information on specific parameters such as flight control and engine performance. The second is a cockpit voice recorder, which records background sound and conversations between crew members and air traffic control.
You also cannot turn off the black box, as it runs throughout the flight, recording every 30 to 60 seconds. is a case of an expert or journalist confusing the lack of an on/off switch as an inability to turn something off. As you'll find many examples of in the media, they don't always get it right.
Nearly every major commercial air accident that has occurred over water or in remote areas has resulted in a costly and time-consuming recovery, Price said. Unlike the heavy black boxes that sink to the ocean floor along with the rest of the plane, ejectable recorders would float on the water's surface.
Answer: If a flight data recorder is recovered from the water, it is submerged in fresh, clean water to prevent deposits such as salt or minerals from drying out within the device.
The black box's orange exterior typically sports reflective decals and the command “do not open.” It can be opened, but doing so is left to authorities independent of the airlines, to ensure the memory is not compromised.
Black boxes are equipped with an Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB) which sends out a ping every second for 30 days, if the aircraft crashes into water. ULBs have a battery life of over six years, and can be traced by sonar and audio equipment up to depths of 14,000 feet, and in some cases, 20,000 feet.