I worked on those crash recorders. The part containing the tape or the memory is armor steel and very small; about 2.5x4x5 inches if I recall. It is practically solid. There is nothing in the tail of the plane that could cause it to be crushed or damaged. It is much denser than any other part of the plane with the possible exception of landing gear or engine parts. The hollow part inside is filled with beeswax in case it is in a fire. The beeswax melts and keeps the innards at the temperature of boiling water for thirty minutes, which is longer than most fuel fed fires.
I’d bet a pretty penny that the actual memory or tape is not damaged.
Good info. That’s what I figured. Otherwise, what’s the point of having the black box except to capture extreme conditions.
Here is a concept probably easier understood by the average person.
You can take your desktop computer and drop it off the roof of a 10 story building. The computer will be no good, but it is highly likely the hard drive will be OK, and even if damaged (inoperable) the data on the ‘disc’ is still there and can be read. You could even immerse it in water for weeks and it would be ok.
The ‘black box’ (yellow/orange in reality) is built much tougher than your desktop PC.