THE US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is to analyse data collected by the 鈥渂lack boxes鈥� aboard American airlines in an attempt to identify safety problems before they cause crashes.
Until now the black boxes, which are in fact bright orange to make them easy to find among the debris of a crashed plane, have been used only to diagnose the causes of disasters. Flight recorders vary widely, but the latest models record more than 100 aspects of an aircraft鈥檚 behaviour, such as which way the rudder is pointing and the plane鈥檚 speed.
Airlines and pilots have always opposed routine study of data collected by the boxes, out of fear that the government would use the data against them. But all parties have now agreed that the FAA should have access to the recordings, although the government will not be told who pilots a particular flight.
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This will enable the FAA to find evidence of safety problems, such as unsafe flying practices or defects in the plane鈥檚 equipment, but it will not be able to use the data to discipline pilots or airline companies.