Investigators call for real-time access to flight data after EgyptAir disappearance

As days pass while crews search the seas for answers to yet another aviation mystery, some accident investigators are saying it’s time to employ technology to make crash data available immediately. Instead of waiting for sophisticated submarines to find and retrieve aircraft black box recorders, which can take weeks or even years, the technology is rapidly maturing to give investigators almost instant access to critical clues about an accident, either by streaming the information in real time via satellite or by devices designed to jettison from the plane. The crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 in the Mediterranean early Thursday on a flight from Paris to Cairo is renewing a debate that began with the 2014 disappearance of Malaysian Air Flight 370 over how best to track aircraft and ensure that accident investigators get the most timely data. <br/>