1956

Australian David Warren invents a black box recorder that captures audio from the cockpit.

1958

World authorities approve minimum operating requirements for fire-resistant data recorders which keep track of five pieces of information about an airplane’s flight. The information is embossed onto an indestructible metal foil.

1965

Audio recorders are required in all commercial airplanes in the U.S.

1987

Flight data recorders are overhauled to include up to 32 pieces of information about the airplane and the characteristics of its movements in the air.

1989

Audio of pilots talking aboard Delta Flight 1141 while it crashed in 1988 is aired on a U.S. television program, leading to outrage from pilots and families of victims who protest the invasion of privacy.

1994

Data recorders are required to go digital, replacing foil recorders and capturing even more information about flights.

1996

ValuJet Flight 592 crashes in the Florida Everglades, killing 110 people. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board say a video recorder would have allowed them to see how smoke in the cockpit affected the crew.

1997

On Oct. 8, a Cessna crashes in Montrose, Colo., killing all eight on board. The crash prompts the National Transportation Safety Board to recommend video recorders be installed on planes that are flown commercially.

1998

Swissair Flight 111 crashes in Nova Scotia, killing 229 people. The accident also involves smoke in the cockpit and is used by the National Transportation Safety Board to justify the need for video recorders in cockpits.

1999

On Oct. 31, EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes over the Atlantic Ocean, killing 217 people. The Egyptian government disputes a National Transportation Safety Board conclusion that the Egyptian pilot deliberately crashed the plane. Investigators say a video recorder would have given them more proof that this was the case.

2000

The National Transportation Safety Board officially makes the recommendation to install video recorders in the cockpits of commercial planes.

2001

A plane carrying members of the Oklahoma State University basketball team and staff, who were heading back from a loss in Colorado, crash. All 10 people on board are killed. Investigators determine that a power failure disabled some of the pilot’s flight instruments, but without recording devices it is impossible to say how the power failure began.

2002

The recommendation to install video recorders in commercial airplanes makes the National Transportation Safety Board’s “Most Wanted” list. Also, a chartered Beechcraft King Air plane crashes and kills U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., while he is campaigning for re-election with his wife and daughter. All eight people on board die. Without a black box on the plane investigators could only determine that the pilot failed to maintain a safe airspeed.

2004

The National Transportation Safety Board holds a highly publicized hearing about the installation of video recorders in commercial cockpits. Major media outlets cover the contentious hearing, during which pilots unions debate the need for the recorders.

2006

The Federal Aviation Administration issues technical minimum standards for cockpit video recorders in the event that it decides to require the recorders in the future.

2008

Pilots on Go! Flight 1002 in Hawaii fly 15 miles past their destination, apparently because they had fallen asleep. The pilots were later fired over the incident.

2009

Northwest Flight 188 overshoots by 150 miles the airport in Minneapolis where it is scheduled to land. The pilots say they were distracted; an investigation reveals they were using laptops in the cockpit. Also, the National Transportation Safety Board recommendation to install video recorders in commercial airplane cockpits is expanded to include general aviation airplanes with jet engines, excluding most small airplanes or hobbyists.

2010

In February, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., introduces a bill to allow monitoring of audio and data information from cockpits in order to make sure pilots follow the rules.