EASA proposes to reinforce flight-recorder resilience

European safety regulators have detailed certification proposals to improve the protection of information from flight recorders. EASA says that premature depowering of cockpit-voice recorders has, in some cases, resulted in loss of useful information which might have been captured if an alternate power source had been installed. EASA adds that some investigations have found both the cockpit-voice and flight-data recorders were fed from the same electrical bus – rendering both recorders inoperative in the event of bus failure. The revision also intends to reduce the possibility that impact sensors designed to stop the recording – might accidentally be activated by other events. EASA is also proposing provisions to accommodate installation of combination recorders as well as deployable recorders. <br/>