41
votes
Accepted
Is flight data recorder erased after every flight?
Flight data recorders have changed over the years and evolved to what they are today. Modern recorders are recording up to 88 parameters. The storage of the recorder is dependent on the range of the ...
- 5,532
39
votes
Accepted
When are black boxes used?
There are two recorders that are mandatory on board commercial aircraft: CVR for voice, and FDR for data. They are designed to survive an accident and include an ultrasonic beacon to facilitate ...
- 71k
28
votes
Is flight data recorder erased after every flight?
So, is a flight data recorder erased after every flight? If so, after how long and by whom, is it automatic on landing, engine shutdown or it's one of the pilots procedures on landing?
Absolutely not!...
- 11.9k
20
votes
When are black boxes used?
Addressing just your first item, the purpose of the cockpit voice recorder is to provide a record of all sounds in the cockpit from the time the recording stops back to however long the recording loop ...
- 39.2k
14
votes
What is the format of data stored by a Flight Data Recorder?
To simplify explanations:
FDR: flight data recorder (flight parameters),
DFDR: digital FDR,
CVR cockpit voice recorder (audio recording).
In commercial aircraft, aside the mandatory FDR/CVR used by ...
- 71k
12
votes
Why are FDRs and CVRs still two separate physical devices?
Many new aircraft, starting with the Boeing 787, are equipped with enhanced airborne flight recorders (EAFR). EAFRs are designed to the ARINC 767 architecture (described here). They combine the ...
- 19.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Why was the FDR of flight ET409 extracted from ocean transported dry instead of in water?
As posted on Avherald, Lebanon's CAA released the final report in January 2012, detailing the investigation and its findings. The link on Avherald is broken, the current site for the CAA can be found ...
- 71.8k
11
votes
Is there anywhere I can pick up raw flight data recorder information?
Unlike the AAIB, the NTSB does release FDR data dumps (adjusted for engineering units and culled to the same parameters as the graphs) as part of the docket release for a given accident -- no FOIA ...
9
votes
Is a smart flight data recorder possible?
Your proposal is that the FDR should stop recording before the incident is over. Total non-starter.
- 11.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Was the foil in older FDRs reused when it ran out, or replaced?
Those older FDR's are known as "foil oscillographic recorders." This technology is similar to the old recording barometers, which were used for, among other things, providing evidence of altitude in ...
- 12.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Why not increase the number of Flight Data Recorders and add jettisoning capability?
The simplest argument to me is that no location on the aircraft is particularly special when it comes to locating black boxes in this sense. The recorders that aren't found are either in exceptionally ...
- 9,278
7
votes
Accepted
What data file format is used by FDRs?
The builders of an FDR must comply with DO-178C (the older DO-178B may also be of interest here) as per AC 20-141B issued by the FAA. These documents do not specifically define a data format but ...
- 100k
7
votes
Why is Germany not able to read data from the Boeing 737 MAX black boxes?
This news article (in German) includes a mention that the black box was using newer software than the BFU has the capability to read out:
Das Gerät habe eine neue Software, die an der BFU nicht ...
- 170
7
votes
Accepted
Is there a reason that commercial jets do not have a “dead man’s switch”?
Very intriguing question. I do wonder what it actually solves, though. Does it only solve the mystery of whether the very rare instance of incapacitation of the flight crew occurred? The Cockpit Voice ...
- 16.5k
6
votes
When are black boxes used?
When are black boxes used? / How often and for what purpose is black box data used?
Recording
Reading
Accident investigation
Operational testing
Annual
Daily
Other purposes
Used for recording ...
- 26.3k
6
votes
Is there somewhere I can download real FDR data?
The only cases I'm aware of where you can do that is when the NTSB publishes it in an accident report. Otherwise, that data is considered proprietary to the aircraft operator & isn't disclosed to ...
- 49.8k
5
votes
Accepted
What is the smallest aircraft to have a CVR / FDR?
Looks like in the EU as well as in the US the Cessna CE-510 Mustang needs one according to the minimum equipment list.
In the EU
-70-01
*** Cockpit Voice Recorder (For Combined Voice Data ...
- 100k
5
votes
Accepted
Has FDR data from a previous flight ever been useful in an accident investigation?
I did a quick search online, it confirms previous flight recordings have been used and a link with the accident evidenced. Investigation agencies obviously try to make the most of the material they ...
- 71k
4
votes
Are CVR and FDR reset after every flight?
No, they are not reset after each flight, but as commented, the FDR and CVR are on a loop, and just keep recording over the old data. For US registered aircraft, FAA Regulation "14 CFR 91.609" covers ...
- 4,463
4
votes
Accepted
What is a flight leg and why it is so important for an aircraft?
With respect to avionics and fault logs, flight legs is just one more data point. It's not any more important than any other piece of data, but it does have value. Avionics are not structure and don't ...
- 19.4k
4
votes
What data file format is used by FDRs?
We can use inductive reasoning to make a guess at a probable answer to your question.
Your premise:
I came to the conclusion that it must be csv
is likely wrong.
The only purpose of a CSV file is to ...
- 31.2k
4
votes
Why not increase the number of Flight Data Recorders and add jettisoning capability?
That is soon to be. Starting in 2019 Airbus is equipping the A350 with redundant, floating, jettisoned recorders. They will be in addition to the usual ones inside the aircraft.
None of the articles ...
- 28.4k
4
votes
Accepted
Which was the last Boeing crash that didn't send its black boxes back to the US?
Please refer to the following website for more details
https://slate.com/technology/2019/03/ethiopian-airlines-737-max-black-box-sent-to-paris-why.html
The International Civil Aviation Organization, ...
- 1,762
4
votes
Accepted
How much data is stored in the flight data recorder per hour in a typical flight of an A380?
I don't have the numbers for the A380 but have some for the Dreamliner. On a typical flight a Dreamliner will record about a half a terabyte of data:
This level of operational insight will involve ...
- 5,532
4
votes
Is a smart flight data recorder possible?
Why would you use such a complex and failure prone system? Assuming you mean that you would fly the flight data recorder (FDR) to the base of the manufacturer. There a couple of drawbacks:
Flying the ...
- 5,532
4
votes
Why didn't the airlines try to start copying SpaceX by putting camera on the outer body of the airplane?
The question is a bit of a rant and unfortunately this answer will be too. I apologise in advance.
Suppose there was a SpaceX launch and the camera showed the explosion of the vehicle. How would ...
- 2,536
4
votes
Accepted
Inconsistent ARINC 717 Barker Codes
After consultation with a third part organisation, I've discovered that the issue here was that there was an additional layer of proprietary encoding above the Arinc 717 that rendered this approach ...
- 61
3
votes
What is the official unit of airplane/aviation speed?
Knot. Pilots think and communicate with ground personnel in knots. HUD tells you knots. Textbook tells you to increase speed to 500 knots after takeoff, and land at 150 knots.
- 1,906
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible