After several delays, the plane's black boxes have now arrived in the UK after the rebels handed them to investigators. 這架飛機的黑盒子從叛軍手中交給調查人員之後，經過了幾天，現在已經送抵英國。
And what happens next here is experts will analyze the information contained on those devices, but information learned from that could take weeks. 接下來進行的是，專家會分析那些儀器收錄的資訊，但從中得知的資訊可能要費時數週。
CNN's Rachel Crane takes a look at why black boxes are so crucia to an investigation after a plane goes down. 本台記者芮秋．克雷恩要看看為什麼在飛機墜毀後，黑盒子對調查工作這麼重要。
Following a plane crash, the search for survivors always comes first. 在發生墜機事件後，尋找生還者一定是第一要務。
But just as important is the search for answers -- the why and the how. 但是同樣也很重要的是尋找答案，事故為什麼會發生以及怎麼發生的。
Often, those answers are found in the black box. 通常那些答案可以在黑盒子裡找到。
Since the '60s, all commercial airplanes have been required to have one on board. 從六○年代以來，所有的商務飛機都被要求機上必須配備一具黑盒子。
Now, the name is a little misleading, because they're actually orange. 這個名稱會有點讓人誤解，因為它們其實是橘色的。
And when we're talking about a black box, we're talking about two different boxes -- 而且雖然我們說一具黑盒子，但其實是兩個不同的盒狀物，
one being the cockpit voice recorder, the other being the flight data recorder. 一個是駕駛艙通話記錄器，另一個是飛行資料記錄器。
Together they weigh anywhere between 20 to 30 pounds and they have to be crash-proof. 這兩個總重量在二十磅到三十磅之間，而且必須能防撞擊。
Black boxes can survive just about anything -- 黑盒子幾乎什麼狀況都不會損壞，
temperatures up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour, forces that are 3,400 g's; now, it's 3,400 times the force of gravity. 可承受高達華氏二千度一小時、重力加速度三千四百 g，也就是地心引力的三千四百倍。
They're waterproof and they can save recorded data for two years. And it's a lot of data. 黑盒子能防水，而且可以保存紀錄的資料兩年。裡面的資料可多了。
The cockpit voice recorder records the crew's conversation and background noise. 駕駛艙通話記錄器會記錄機組人員的對話和背景聲音。
By listening to the ambient sounds in the cockpit before a crash, experts can determine if a stall took place, the RPMs of the engine and the speed at which the plane was traveling. 藉由聆聽墜機前駕駛艙的環境音，專家能研判是否發生失速、引擎每分鐘轉速，以及飛機行進的速度。
When these sounds are cross-referenced with ground control conversations, they can even help searchers locate a crash site. 把這些聲音和地面控制中心的對話交叉比對，甚至能協助搜救人員判定墜機地點。
Then there's the flight data recorder. 再來是飛行資料記錄器。
It gathers 25 hours of technical data from airplane sensors, recording several thousand discrete pieces of information -- 它會從飛機的感應器收集二十五個小時的技術性資料，記錄數千筆間斷資料，
data about the air speed, altitude, pitch, acceleration, roll, fuel, and the list goes on and on. 這些數據包括風速、高度、俯仰、加速度、滾轉、油料等等，項目繁多不及備載。
But to make sense of the data, first you have to find it -- not an easy thing to do when a plane crashes into the ocean. 不過，要解讀這些數據，首先得要找到它，如果飛機墜入海中，這可不是件做起來容易的事。
Both black box components are outfitted with underwater locater beacons, which self-activate the moment they come into contact with water. 黑盒子的兩個組件都裝備了水底定位信號器，一接觸到水就會自行啟動。
They send pings once per second to signal their location 它們每秒會送出一次脈衝，以信號昭示所在位置，
and can transmit data from as deep as 20,000 feet for up to 30 days, when their batteries then run out. 並且可以從深達二千英尺處傳送訊號長達三十天，電池耗盡的時候。
But on land, there's no such pinging to help guide the search. 但是在陸地上，就沒有這樣的脈衝來協助引導搜尋。
Investigators have to sift through the wreckage until they find it. 調查人員必須在殘骸中仔細篩檢直到找到為止。