The Laboratory for the Reading and Analysis of Flight Recorder Data is responsible for extracting, obtaining and analyzing data from black boxes.
Air Force Agency: CENIPA, by Lieutenant Monique Queiroz and Lieutenant Johny Lucas
The continuous integration of new technologies is essential for the advancement of knowledge and the creation of innovative solutions. In Brazil, the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (CENIPA), an agency of the Aeronautics Command (COMAER), has played a crucial role in Flight Safety throughout its 52-year history.
Responsible for the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention System (SIPAER), for the last 18 years the Center has had the Flight Recorder Data Reading and Analysis Laboratory (LABDATA), an essential sector of the Center in charge of extracting, obtaining and analyzing data from “black boxes”, providing fundamental information for the investigations it is responsible for.
In line with CENIPA’s mission to contribute to flight safety, LABDATA follows strict international standards, guaranteeing quality and precision in its analyses. In the southern hemisphere, only Brazil and Australia have laboratories with such capacity, giving CENIPA the possibility of supporting the investigations of several friendly nations, especially those located in Latin America.
The flight recorder, commonly referred to as the “black box”, is designed to withstand extreme conditions, withstanding falls, fires and submersions of up to six thousand meters. For data extraction to be carried out effectively, the laboratory has state-of-the-art equipment and a highly specialized team, who carry out technical analyses using microscopes, Virtual Reality (3D) animations and even specific ovens for drying the electronic elements.
In the laboratory there is an extraction workshop, where the memory boards of flight recorders are removed and the components checked. The data is recovered electronically, allowing access to cockpit sounds, pilot communications and the reading of hundreds of flight parameters, such as altitude, speed and trajectory. After this analysis, the specialists work in the flight simulator room, where the information they have obtained is used to create an animation based on the data recovered and flight conditions prior to the accident.
The head of LABDATA, Colonel Sidnei Velloso da Silva Junior, emphasizes the importance of the work carried out at the institution. “Since the structure was set up at CENIPA in 2006, we have focused on continuously improving the analyses carried out here. We work tirelessly to provide investigators with as much information as possible from the data obtained, which requires a meticulous process of analysis and thus, in a timely manner, contributes to the excellence of the results, contributing to the improvement of aviation,” he said.
For the head of CENIPA, Air Brigadier Marcelo Moreno, this dedication strengthens confidence in aviation at a global level. “The expertise of the work carried out at LABDATA is fundamental to improving the safety and efficiency of our operations. We will continue to invest in innovation and collaborate with international partners, maintaining our mission of contributing to Flight Safety and preserving the Brazilian Air Force’s combat capability,” he concluded.
Photos: Lieutenant Monique Queiroz / CENIPA