What is the role of flight data recorders in aircraft crash investigations?

Flight data recorders, or 'black boxes,' are crucial tools that provide essential metrics about an aircraft's performance during incidents. As Jeff Guzzetti explains, these devices reveal critical information such as vertical descent rates and landing forces that can't be determined from video footage alone. Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will analyze these recorders to accurately assess how hard the aircraft landed and whether it touched down predominantly on its right main landing gear. This data is vital for determining if mechanical issues like pre-existing landing gear problems contributed to the crash.