Abstract <p>The efficiency of the combined application of acoustic emission with vibration-based diagnostics and video recording in estimating the load-bearing capacity of a composite specimen and identifying the mechanism of evolution for its destruction under compression was studied. Before compression test, a specimen made of multilayer high-strength carbon fiber reinforced plastic was subjected to a shock with an energy of 90 J in the central part. The amplitude spectra recorded during vibration-based diagnostics remained almost unchanged before the appearance of developing macrodamages in the structure of the material. The picture abruptly changed with the appearance and development of macrodamages as shown by the scalogram of observed vibration signal spikes at the characteristic stages of evolution in the destruction of multilayer carbon fiber reinforced plastic. The dynamics of change in the peak frequencies of local maxima in the spectra of vibration signals generated by the processes of bruising the edges of a specimen, delamination and local buckling under bending, and destructing its layers under compressive load increased up to load-bearing capacity loss by the carbon fiber reinforced plastic was investigated. The application of vibration-based diagnostics in combination with video recording made it possible not only to verify the results of acoustic emission diagnostics by estimating the load-bearing capacity of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, but also to monitor the kinetics of macrodamages in its structure.</p>