Photographer Jeffrey Milstein has shot a fascinating project documenting black boxes, shedding light on what happens to the devices after tragic crashes.
Despite the name, the boxes are usually reddish orange to help rescuers spot them among the wreckage of crashed planes and helicopters.
The boxes, which record flight data and conversations between pilots, are incredibly important for discovering what led to a plane's crash, as evidenced by the continuing search for Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 and its flight recorders in the Indian Ocean.
Photographer Mr Milstein, from New York, said the boxes were the only way to piece together the cause of a disaster.
'While everyone has heard of the black box, few people have seen one. These photographs document black boxes, and parts of boxes, that have been recovered from aircraft accidents,' he said.
'Some of the earliest boxes used wire, metal foil, or continuous magnetic tape for recording. As technological instruments they are visually fascinating.
'In addition, they are emotionally charged - some crushed, some burnt - they reveal stories of the tragedies that occurred. They may contain the last words of the pilots, and the best hope of understanding and preventing future mishaps. It is hard not to look at some of them without being reminded of our vulnerability.'
Mr Milstein said he became interested in black boxes after being asked to take photographs of one after a helicopter crash in Ottawa, Canada.
He said: 'When I was shooting the one from the helicopter I noticed there were some others on shelves. Many very old early models or just parts. They allowed me to photograph them. They didn't know what accidents many of the old ones were from. I just photographed them as objects.
'When back in the US I contacted our Transportation Safety Board (TSB) but they would not allow photographs. One day I read that the black box was invented in Australia. So I ended up going to Canberra and photographing what they had.
'Only a few of the boxes had tags and I didn't try to find out where they all came from and I'm not sure they knew about the old ones. I think a few were not from crashes.
'They told me that they often did the analysis for a large area around there, including Indonesia. Apparently many TSBs return black boxes to the airlines.
'There seem to be a few primary manufacturers. Over the years they used magnetic wire and foil. And magnetic tape which fell into a slot in a box so it wouldn't get stuck on a reel. You can see that on one of the older boxes.'
(Inputs from Daily Mail)
