In the mid-1950s, while investigating a series of mysterious crashes of the de Havilland Comet — the world's first commercial jet airliner — David Warren thought of a solution that would assist with all future airline investigations: a flight recorder. The idea was to have a record of the flight condition, such as the speed and altitude, and a tape that captured the pilot's reaction moments before an accident.
Warren, then a 28-year-old scientist at the Aeronautical Research Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia, believed this tool should be placed in every aircraft. Although the idea didn't take off instantly, his innovation would later become a major milestone in the safety of modern aircraft.
