.. mandate the video recorders, as far as viewing, as the cockpit voice recorder (Mann, 2000). The National Transportation Safety Board does release transcripts of the voice recordings, but are prohibited by law to release the actual recordings of the voice recorders (Carley, 2000).
Duane Woerth, President of the Airlines Pilots Association, stated that the protection already in place is not sufficient enough to protect the recordings. There were several instances where the news has received actual voice recordings and used them for the world to listen (Mann, 2000). Flight Operations Quality Assurance does not require an accident to happen in order for information to be obtained. The data collected before an accident is used for decision making base on the analysis and data collected. The information collected because of FOQA gives airlines a good indication of how effective the training and flight procedures are for their pilots (Frenzel, 2000).
Organizations that use the Flight Operations Quality Assurance programs fear that the information being collected can be used against them in criminal cases. If a pilot feels that the information being collected can be used against him/her, he/she will not want to participate in the program (Maharry, 2000). How many cameras should be used in the cockpit? Duncan Schofield, manager of flight-recorder engineering at Honeywell International Inc., a maker of aircraft instruments stated that three cameras would be sufficient to cover all aspects in the cockpit. One camera will be used to get the readings of the instruments in front of the pilots, one for the instruments above the pilots, and one for the cockpit to get a general idea of what the pilots are doing (Carley, 2000).
Will the video boxes be able to survive the crash? Recorders must be crash proof so that the essential information in the boxes is safe. The criteria for the boxes are as follows: Able to withstand the impact of 3,400 Gs. This is the equivalent to an object coming to a dead stop traveling 360 miles per hour. It must be crush proof to withstand 5,000 pounds of force for five minutes. They must also be able to be protected against punctures to the box. It must be fire proof, able to withstand temperatures up to 2,000 degrees for 30 minutes.
It must be heat proof, able to withstand heat up to 500 degrees for ten hours. It must be waterproof, able to last for thirty days under water at depths of 20,000 feet. It must be corrosion proof, so it may last at least 30 days in a body of water. It must be gunk proof also, able to survive 48 hours in submersed in oil, fuel, hydraulic fluid, grease, and extinguishing agent (Maharry, 2000). Summary Data recorders play such an integral role in the safety of commercial airlines. Since the National Transportation Safety Board is the watchdog for all airline industries, they increasingly want to upgrade and implement new recorders in the name of safety.
Many people and organizations are still at odds whether the video recorders will be beneficial to help with safety and solve airline crashes. With more aircraft in the skies, the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will continue to make advances in data collection for many years to come. In recent years, the air transportation industry and the federal government have spent a significant amount of effort and money on different programs to make our skies safer. Some examples of these efforts include the DOT Aviation Safety Action Plan, the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, the National Civil Aviation Review Commission, and the FAA Safer Skies Initiative. These efforts have identified the most important issues affecting air safety.
These programs advocate a strong industry focus on risk management and an aggressive, proactive safety program. The current industry thrust is to provide the air transportation industry with the tools to detect & remedy the unsafe and undesirable trends that will eventually result in accidents, and thereby prevent the next accident without having to wait for an aircraft to fall out of the sky. When it comes to improving air safety, cockpit video recorders are not the answer. The cameras can continue to be used in a training capacity. Airline companies use the cameras to assess students, which provide the student and instructor with instant feedback on positive and negative aspects of their training.
A lot can be learned by using the camera in this function to ensure training is efficient and effective. Today’s state of the art technology is so advanced and becoming more and more advanced that the National Transportation Safety Board can make accurate assessments on the demise of almost, but not all crash. Flight Data Recorders (FDRs) in the latest versions of transport aircraft typically record more than a hundred different parameters. Enhanced recording technology, combined with proactive air safety programs such as FOQA, will help the NTSB to accurately identify airplane or pilot system deficiencies.
This in return will continue to keep our skies safe and friendly into the next century. Bibliography Asker, J. R. (2000, April 17). Say what? Aviation Week & Space Technology, 152(16), 35.
Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers5=deea050c59aef0 4a72844a0930be17ea Barker, A. (1999). Blackbox flight recorders and cockpit voice recorders. United Kingdom: University of Bath. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~en9ajb/blackbox.htm Bill, C.
(2000, March 31). New Zealand pilot charged with manslaughter-IFALPA protest. Retrieved October 7, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ifalpa.org/Press%20Release/00PRL017 NZ Pilot Manslaughter Charge.PDF Carley, W. M. (2000, April 7). Talk of cameras in cockpits faces opposition from pilots.
The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 5, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://home.pacific.net.sg/~aries8/wsj07042000.htm Frenzel, R. H. (2000, April 11). Statement of Robert H. Frenzel, Senior Vice President for Aviation Safety and Operations Air Transport Association of America before the Aviation Subcommittee, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Retrieved October 5, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ntsb.gov/speeches/jhc990503.htmhttp://w ww.house.gov/transportation/aviation/04-11-00/fren zel.html Hall, J. (1999, May 3). Remarks by Jim Hall, Chairman National Transportation Safety Board at the International Recorder Symposium. Retrieved September 4, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ntsb.gov/speeches/jhc990503.htm Lieb, D.
A. (2000, April 12). Photo shoot for safety. The Associated Press.
Retrieved September 8, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.iasa.com.au/cockpitcameras.html Maharry, M. (2000, May 7). Unlocking black boxes. The News Tribune, p.
D1 Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Business NewsBank site: http://infoweb4.newsbank.com/cgi bin/english/fresults.pl?p product=BZNB state=7lm85j.5.l textl=cockpit%20video%20recorder nb dblist=BZNB%2CGNOL%2CNFIW nb frames=no%7C%3A%7Cno nb id=U5AU4EQDZ2VodGltZW9mZGF50jE6MTI6MTUyLjlwLjl1Ljg O nb lastdb=GNOL nb sortchoice=Best thfield+ALL plural=no search=keyword STP= lang=English f type=keyword=yes M1= D1= Y1= MZ=db MZ= D2= Y2 Mann, P. (2000, April 17). Lawmakers skeptical about cockpit video, psych tests. Aviation Week & Space Technology, 152 (16), 74-76. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers5=894726e2348e56 895b0dd288b34d9469 Richfield, P. (2000, June 26).
Safety data collection spurs controversy. The Weekly of Business Aviation, 86 (6), 38. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexus.com/univers5=b9d50206f0a773 8ff1b42a0045fb1b59 Rimmer, D. (2000, May).
NTSB asks for cockpit video recorders. Business and Commercial Aviation, 86, 19. Safety board calls for cameras in the cockpit.(2000, April 17). Air Safety Week, 14 (16), Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers5=87402bd3d4c926 2e633962ae51e70884 Safety board favors cameras for cockpits.(2000, April 12). The New York Times, p.
A26. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers5=f40a225dc77e49 607350f90f309d3314 Sher, A. (2000, April 12). Safety board favors cockpit video recorders: Union fears invasion of pilots privacy. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p. A3.
Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers5=c820cc703dcd66 4d978a9bbebd96e4f0.
