Post by Jenny Beatty
As I said only days ago, I rarely comment on airplane crashes.
Then I caught a snippet of a CNN news show with a short segment on the Jeju Air Flight 2216 accident within 24 hours of it happening. A live reporter mentioned the black boxes and got the Flight Data Recorder part right. In his summary, however, he mentioned it and “the video recorder.”.
Perhaps he misspoke, a brain fade in the moment of a live on-the-scene report, and meant to say “Cockpit Voice Recorder.” But he led viewers to believe there might be actual cockpit videos, but I don’t think those exist.
It’s true that a few non-U.S. airlines have small video cameras mounted on the flight deck and release videos to the internet for entertainment purposes. Those reels of landings, seen from the pilots’ perspective, are fun to watch! But such cockpit video set-ups are disallowed in the U.S. and uncommon elsewhere — and are unlikely to meet the standards for data preservation in case of an accident.
The Facts
Another popular misconception is that you can listen to an accident aircraft’s Cockpit Voice Recorder tapes. The fact of the matter is, you won’t hear those tapes. What’s widely available online are recordings of pilots and air traffic controllers communicating on ATC radio frequencies, such as from LiveATC. However, the Cockpit Voice Recorder tapes, actual recordings of the pilots' sounds and conversations on the flight deck of an accident aircraft, are never supposed to be released to the public.
Rather, a written transcript of these recordings will be released eventually. Only a few select people are authorized to listen to the actual recordings: Accident investigators, the pilots themselves, and family members of people who perished in the accident. Accident investigators have told me — you do NOT want to hear these recordings. What you hear will haunt you for a long time, perhaps forever.
These misunderstandings are part of what prompted me to sit down and write.
Here’s what I say today:
– U.S. passenger airlines have had 0 (zero) passenger fatalities in the last five years, with the most recent fatalities being in 2019 (1 fatality), 2018 (1), 2009 (50), and 2006 (49).
– Passengers: During taxi, takeoff, and landing, stay alert and keep your shoes and eyeglasses on. Listen to flight attendant briefings, locate the nearest exit and an alternate, and buckle up tight. If there’s an emergency evacuation of the cabin, leave your belongings behind! And if you’re seated in an emergency exit row, ONLY open that exit for an emergency that requires everyone to get out quickly, such as a fire in the cabin. Listen to the flight attendants!
– Airline accident investigations are helped by the “black boxes,” which are actually bright orange and built to withstand impact, fire, and water. The Flight Data Recorder shows the position of flaps, gear, engine power, altitude, airspeed, and 3000 other parameters. The Cockpit Voice Recorder has separate channels to record pilot conversations and sounds on the flight deck, as well as all communications on the radio frequencies in use, including air traffic control and company. Both are running continuously to collect data.
– Accident investigators WILL find out what happened. They will make information available in a preliminary report within a week; the full investigation and final report can take a year or more. Factual information is more useful to us, especially to us pilots, than speculation.
My heart goes out to the grieving families and friends who lost loved ones.
Jenny Beatty is a Boeing 737-800/Max captain for a major US airline.