Russian Plane’s Midair Breakup a Puzzle in Modern Jet Era

With wreckage spread over a wide area, there’s also little doubt that the plane broke up in the sky. Reading the recorders, known as black boxes, should help with the complex task of explaining how an airliner built to withstand extreme turbulence and equipped with computerized flight limits to ensure it maintains control could have been ripped to pieces.

“They’ve got the wreckage, they’ve got the recorders, they’ve got the air-traffic-control recordings,” said Paul Hayes, safety director at London-based aviation consultancy Ascend Worldwide. “Assuming the recorders are in good condition they should have initial views within a week.”