The FAA today (Thursday)
proposed a series of significant upgrades to aircraft "black boxes"
that will increase the quality, quantity, and survivability of
recorded data.
Stronger cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder
standards that require newer recording technology and greater
recording frequency will ensure that more valuable data is
retrieved from aircraft incidents and accidents, FAA Administrator
Marion C. Blakey said.
Under the proposed rules, all voice recorders must record the
last two hours of cockpit audio instead of the currently required
15 to 30 minutes. Also, a 10-minute independent backup power source
for the voice recorders would be required to allow recording even
if all aircraft power sources were lost or interrupted.
Voice recorders also would have to use technology other than
magnetic tape, which is vulnerable to damage and decreased
reliability, Blakey said.
Airplanes (but not
helicopters) currently in service would have to retrofit some of
the equipment within four years of the rule’s effective date.
The rule also mandates these enhancements on all newly built
aircraft and helicopters two years from the effective date.
"Good data is often the key to deciphering what went wrong in an
aircraft incident or accident," Blakey said.
"Increasing the likelihood that recorders yield crucial data
improves overall safety by giving us the chance to analyze these
events."
The proposed rule also clarifies operating requirements for
voice recorders, which would have to operate continuously from when
pilots begin their checklist before starting the engines until
completion of the final checklist when the flight ends.
The FAA is proposing that data recorders measure the
aircraft’s primary flight control movements, and how hard the
pilots move the controls, more frequently than is now required. The
data recorders also would be required to retain the last 25 hours
of recorded information.
These provisions would
affect newly manufactured aircraft starting two years from the
rule’s effective date.
The proposed rule formalizes current FAA policy that both types
of recorder be housed in separate units (excluding helicopters) and
that no single electrical failure disable the recorders.
The proposed rule, published in today’s Federal Register,
affects manufacturers and operators of airplanes and helicopters
holding certificates for aircraft with 10 or more seats. The FAA
estimates that the total cost to operators and manufacturers would
be approximately $256 million in today’s dollars.
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