U.S. Lawmakers Push Plan to Upgrade 'Black Boxes'

Air Safety Week, July 28, 2003

Year 2: $32 million, for 1 CVR/DFDR fixed and 1 CVR/DFDR deployable, for 500 aircraft.

Difficult or Destroyed Recent fatal commercial accidents where fixed
recorders were destroyed or difficult to recover quickly.

Disaster: China Airlines, Flight CI 611, May 25, 2002. Taiwan Strait.
FDR Re-covered: 35 days
CVR Re-covered: 34 days
Notes: In 210 ft. (65 meters). Underwater locator beacon (ULB) signal
detected 4 days after crash. Most of subsequent time to recovery spent
refining signal location.

Disaster: World Trade Center attacks. American Airlines Flight 11, United
Airlines Flight 175. Sept. 11, 2001.
FDR Re-covered: No
CVR Re-covered: No
Notes: Never found in subsequent removal of towers' wreckage.

Disaster: Pentagon attack. American Airlines Flight 77. Sept. 11, 2001.
FDR Re-covered: 3 days
CVR Re-covered: 3 days
Notes: CVR damaged beyond repair. No data recovered.

Disaster: EgyptAir Flight 990. October 31, 1999. 60 miles south of
Nantucket, Mass.
FDR Re-covered: 9 days
CVR Re-covered: 13 days
Notes: In 250 ft. (76 meters) of water. ULB detached. Deep drone literally
stumbled on its valuable discovery.

Disaster: Swissair Flight 111. Sept. 2, 1998. Peggys Cove, Halifax, Canada.
FDR Re-covered: 4 days
CVR Re-covered: 9 days
Notes: In 180 ft. (55 meters) of water.

Disaster: SilkAir Flight 185. Dec. 19, 1997. Palembang, Indonesia.
FDR Re-covered: 5 days
CVR Re-covered: 20 days
Notes: ULBs detached - adding time to locate CVR.

Disaster: TWA Flight 800. July 17, 1996. Off coast near East Moriches, NY.
FDR Re-covered: 7 days
CVR Re-covered: 7 days
Notes: During recovery period, public fear was heightened by questions of a
possible terrorist attack or U.S. military involvement.

Disaster: ValuJet Flight 592. May 11, 1996. Everglades swamp near Miami, Fla.
FDR Re-covered: 2 days
CVR Re-covered: 15 days
Notes: Both ULBs did not work. Someone accidentally stepped on CVR.

Disaster: Birgenair Flight ALW-201. Feb. 7, 1996. Crashed off coast of
Dominican Republic.
FDR Re-covered: 21 days
CVR Re-covered: 21 days
Notes: Near limit of 30-day ULB battery life. Recorder recovery in 7,200 ft.
(2,200 meters) of deep water; cost $1.4 million.

Sources: ASC, NTSB, Dominican Republic General Directorate of Civil
Aviation, DRS Technologies

Three Strikes

Status of three safety board recommendations:

* Two hours. Recommendation A-99-016, issued March 19, 1999. Require retrofit after Jan. 1, 2005, of all cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) on all airplanes required to carry both a CVR and a digital flight data recorder (DFDR) with a CVR that is capable of recording the last two hours of audio and is fitted with an independent power source that automatically provides 10 minutes of operation whenever aircraft power to the recorder ceases.

Status of FAA action. Final rule not issued. Open - unacceptable response.

* Two pairs. Recommendation A-99-017, issued March 19, 1999. Require all aircraft manufactured after Jan. 1, 2003, to be equipped with two combination (CVR/DFDR) recording systems. One system should be located as close to the cockpit as practicable and the other as far aft as practicable.