1. A flight data recording system comprising: a single apparatus installed on board an aircraft further comprising: a plurality of sensors for measuring and detecting the condition of the aircraft and its surroundings; a plurality of sensors and devices for monitoring the operation of the aircraft's power plant; a device for monitoring the activity of the crew; a global positioning satellite receiver that generates the position information of the aircraft based on signals received from navigation satellites; a central processing unit that acquires, processes and stores the data from the sensors, devices and global positioning satellite receiver; a plurality of non-volatile memory modules for recording flight data obtained from said sensors, devices and global positioning satellite receiver; a device for retrieving said flight data from a remote location using a wireless means of communications; and a data retrieving apparatus located on the ground and used for retrieving said flight data from said non-volatile memory.