Thanks for your info on this crash. There is a lot of incorrect info being given out by the media outlets which only adds to the level of confusion and upset of the general public.

I am a instrument rated private pilot and an Electronics Engineer.

I agree that aircraft need some other means other than the CVR and FDR “Black Boxes” for sharing the information that may lead to the prevention of future aircraft accidents.

As far as bandwidth concerns, I think that is a red herring, the more probable concern is privacy for the flight crew, and its operating airline.

In a perfect world, this would not be the case, but that is not the world we live in.

So, why can’t we strike a balance between broadcasting potentially sensitive information and having the needle in the haystack search for the FDR and CVR that often occurs after a mishap?

My idea is to equip the aircraft with a small device in the tail that can contain copies of the FDR and CVR info and be ejected from the aircraft prior to the aircraft impacting terrain or water. It could be triggered by rate of decent through 10,000 feet to automatically eject, as well as be commanded to eject by the flight crew if they know they are about to loose control of the aircraft or ditch the aircraft.

The device would have a parachute and ELT transmitter becon to aid its survival during its decent and its location. It would transmit both its current location and the last known position of the aircraft before it ejected.

Your thoughts?

It is actually a huge amount of data. You referenced the space shuttle, and rightly so. But that is one vehicle and it does not, can not, transmit all the data the flight recorder compiles. When you consider a fleet of several thousand planes, all transmitting, the technology is not ready yet and the manufacturers and operators would not foot the cost that it would require. What you are speaking of would require the ability to transmit possibly hundreds of GB of data per flight, wireless, while moving at 500 mph. When you place a plane over water with receiving stations possible thousands of miles away it just isn’t feasible.

Regards,

-mzen

Thanks for the follow up story. Couple of thoughts. Excessive hail in the engine is a possibility, but not completely probably. When those engines are in development they go through the “Frozen Turkey” test. They literally throw a frozen turkey into the compressor intake. But as we saw with the geese on the Hudson River miracle, a system can only handle so much.

Secondly, you spoke of real time system diagnostics being sent to ground stations, a kind of black box on the ground. This type of technology is being heavily researched for the JSF and other systems, but it is just not mature enough, or practical at this point for commercial craft (due to the volume of commercial air traffic and the cost associated. Military applications will use it but the cost is significantly increased and sometimes not a deterrent). It may be probably for commercial transports traveling over ground, but the power needed to send that huge amount of data a thousand to several thousand miles is just not practical.

Anyhow, thanks again.

-mzen

I found you through an ABC vid on Yahoo! I was surprised to hear you are no longer with CNN. I enjoyed your reporting on CNN, but haven’t had time to watch TV lately with the depression. The suits at CNN must be crazy to let you go. I have been linking to your articles on the crash and it is burning up my blog. Links to your blog posts are #1, 2 and 3 on my wordpress blog. The horrific story of what happened to doomed AF flight 447 seems to be coming together slowly based in part on your excellent research, assessment and reporting, along with the condition of the wreckage found, information surfacing about the pitot malfunction problems and the weather. Taking it all into consideration, I have cobbled together my own amateurish scenario of what transpired in the final minutes of that tragically doomed flight. The pitot sensors were telling the plane’s onboard computer system that the plane was traveling slower than it actually was, thereby allowing the plane’s rudder to get into a position it shouldn’t have been in because in actuality the plane was going too fast for the rudder to be in that position. Since the rudder was in the wrong position for such excessive air speeds, the immensely important tail of the air craft was sheered off by the elements, kicking off a mortal catastrophe the likes of which Air France has never seen. With fuselage breached and the rudder ripped away, the situation was beyond dire. It was sheer doom. There was no action the flight crew could have taken to salvage the aircraft and safeguard the passengers. It was curtains for all aboard. With the loss of the all important rudder, which in turn breached the fuselage, the plane rapidly depressurized, sucking out some of the terrified passengers and crew. The panic stricken fliers, hearts pounding uncontrollably with adrenalin, were forced to face the unfathomable reality of their situation – the plane was coming apart around them. The passengers and crew not initially sucked out of the fuselage during the initial rapid depressurization (as well as the ones who were) were pummeled mercilessly by the full force the violent elements enveloping them, as they rode their stricken airliner to its doom in a death plunge so terrifying its enough to make one never want to fly again. What was left of flight 447 with remaining passengers aboard was torn to shreds by the brutal winds as it fell to earth until alas, its tragic journey ended in the dark depths of the Atlantic, where passengers and crew were scattered in a sea of death. How utterly heartbreaking. The terror experienced by those fliers must’ve been off the richter scale. This scenario is every fliers worst nightmare. We all know the odds are against us if we are unlucky enough to end up on a failed flight. I dare say this tragedy is spooking the flying public like no other. How could God in all His mercy allow those people to suffer such a cruel fate? How could God be so compassionate, yet so cruel? I hope those passengers asked Him that when they got to heaven. May their continued journey through paradise be a peaceful one. God bless them and you Miles for enlightening us to the facts behind this painful and terrifying tragedy.