Engineering chief says ‘deployable’ flight recorders that launch from an airliner and float rather than sinking with wreckage would speed up search and recovery

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The crash of an EgyptAir jet has strengthened the case for ejectable “black boxes” that are launched out of an aircraft in an accident, making them easier to find, the most senior engineer at Airbus has said.



Investigators are searching in some of the deepest waters of the Mediterranean for flight recorders from an EgyptAir Airbus A320, which crashed on 19 May, killing 66 people.

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The jet’s flight recorders or “black boxes” are designed to emit acoustic signals for 30 days after a crash, giving search teams less than five weeks to pinpoint the sound in waters up to 3,000 metres deep. Rules that would extend the duration and range of acoustic pingers do not take effect until 2018.

“If we have a deployable recorder it will be much easier to find,” said Charles Champion, the Airbus executive vice-president for engineering.

“We have been working on that and this only reinforces our overall approach.”

Ejectable or “deployable” recorders would separate from the tail during a crash and float in the water while emitting a distress signal.

Recommended by investigators after an Air France A330 jet crashed in 2009, the idea was again discussed after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 in March 2014.

The United Nations’ aviation agency, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, has called for key data to be recoverable in a “timely manner” from aeroplanes delivered after 2021.

It will be left to airlines and manufacturers to decide how to meet the goal – whether through deployable recorders or other technology such as new homing methods or data streaming.

Deployable recorders have long been used in the military. But some in the industry have expressed doubts about their safe use on civil airliners, saying they could be ejected accidentally and introduce new risks.

Airbus has said in the past it was talking to regulators about adding deployable devices to its two largest models of jets.

Boeing has been more sceptical, citing instances where they have failed on warplanes.

A series of accidents over water including the EgyptAir disaster and wider safety issues are likely to be discussed at a meeting of global airlines in Dublin this week.

With Reuters