半个世纪的时间内，航空飞行记录器“黑匣子”在航空业得到了普遍运用，承担着重要的记录作用，对促进世界上多起重大空难的调查都功不可没。7月19日，这一仪器的发明者——澳大利亚籍工程师戴维·沃伦博士(Dr. David Warren)去世，享年85岁。

       沃伦1925年出生在澳大利亚东北部一个偏僻地区。1953年，彗星客机发生坠机事故，使得沃伦萌发了要制造一种飞行数据记录设备的想法。他受到音乐录音设备的启发，将飞机上的信息进行保存，制造出了“黑匣子”的雏形，但是他的发明在最初几年并没有受到重视。数年后，人们才开始意识到，“黑匣子”对于航空业的重要性，于是开始大规模地在民用和军用客机上安装这种设备，并推广到全世界。

       随着时间的推移，“黑匣子”也在不断更新换代，今天的“黑匣子”包含了飞行数据与驾驶舱的声音记录，以及飞机一些仪表的读数。为表彰沃伦的杰出贡献，2002年，澳大利亚当局为其颁发了澳大利亚授予平民的最高荣誉——“澳大利亚国家勋章”。

    David Warren, the Australian scientist who invented the “black box” flight data recorder, died on July 19 at the age of 85. “Dr. Warren’s flight data recorder has made an invaluable contribution to safety in world aviation,” the Defense Department of Australia said in a statement.

    Epochal invention

    Mr. Warren came up with the idea for the cockpit voice recorder in 1953 after investigating the crash of the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the Comet, the Department of Defense of Australia said in a statement. He thought it would be helpful for airline accident investigators to have a recording of voices in the cockpit.

    He designed and constructed a prototype in 1956. It took several years before officials understood just how valuable the device could be and began installing them in commercial airlines worldwide.

    It was not until a British aviation official saw the device in 1958 that Dr. Warren was given the resources to develop it in the U.K. He and a team of scientists developed new models, housed them in crash-proof and fire-proof boxes and sold them around the world. 

    Worldwide adoption

    Airliners globally are now required to carry both cockpit and flight-data recorders. Information collected from the devices has been essential to determining the cause of many crashes. 

    After the crash of the Fokker Friendship in Queensland, Australia in 1960 became the first country in the world to rule that all airliners should carry a flight recorder.

    Flight recorders have always been brightly painted to make them easier to spot in aircraft wreckage. The term “black box” is believed to have been originally applied in a U.K. meeting to convey the sense of a magical invention or gadget.

    In 2002, Mr. Warren was awarded the Order of Australia -- among the nation’s highest civilian honors -- for his work.

    Personal life

    Mr. Warren was born in Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory in 1925 and attended school in Sydney and Launceston. He graduated from Sydney University and became a chemistry teacher. 

    He was the principal research scientist at the Defense Science and Technology Organization’s Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne from 1952 to 1983. He is survived by his wife, Ruth, four children and seven grandchildren.