AP reported that an Australian scientist, David Warren, born in 1925 in a remote part of north-east Australia, has died on Monday at the age of 85.
Warren is survived by his wife Ruth, four children and seven grandchildren.
The scientist Warren invented the ‘black box’ flight data recorder.
He came up with the idea for the cockpit voice recorder after investigating the crash of the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the Comet, in 1953 and thought it would be helpful for airline accident investigators to have a recording of voices in the cockpit.
He designed and constructed a black box prototype in 1956, but it took several years before officials understood just how valuable the device could be and began installing them in commercial airlines worldwide.
The defence department said in a statement that Dr Warren’s flight data recorder has made an invaluable contribution to safety in world aviation.
Warren’s father was killed in a plane crash in Australia in 1934.
He became the principal research scientist at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation’s Aeronautical Research Laboratories in Melbourne from 1952 to 1983.
In 2002, Warren was awarded the Order of Australia – among the nation’s highest civilian honours – for his work.
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