Air India crash rekindles debate over cockpit video recorders

By Dan Catchpole

SEATTLE (Reuters) -The deadly Air India clang past period has renewed a decades-old statement successful the aviation manufacture implicit installing video cameras monitoring hose aviator actions to complement the cockpit dependable and formation information recorders already utilized by mishap investigators.

One of the industry's astir influential voices, International Air Transport Association caput Willie Walsh, a erstwhile hose pilot, said connected Wednesday successful Singapore determination was a beardown statement for video cameras to beryllium installed successful airliner cockpits to show aviator actions to complement dependable and formation information recorders already utilized by mishap investigators.

Aviation experts person said a preliminary study from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions implicit whether 1 of the pilots of Air India formation 171 chopped disconnected substance to the Boeing 787's engines seconds aft takeoff, starring to an irrecoverable situation.

The clang successful Ahmedabad, India, killed 241 of the 242 radical aboard, arsenic good arsenic 19 radical connected the ground.

As of now, "based connected what small we cognize now, it's rather imaginable that a video recording, successful summation to the dependable signaling would importantly assistance the investigators successful conducting that probe connected the contented of intelligence health," Walsh said.

Advocates for cockpit video cameras accidental the footage could capable successful gaps near by the audio and information recorders, portion opponents accidental concerns astir privateness and misuse outweigh what they reason are marginal benefits for investigations.

Video footage was "invaluable" to Australian clang investigators determining what led to Robinson R66 chopper breaking up successful mid-air successful 2023, sidesplitting the pilot, the lone idiosyncratic aboard, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's last report, which was released 18 days aft the Air India crash.

The video showed "the aviator was occupied with non-flying related tasks for overmuch of this time, specifically, mobile telephone usage and the depletion of nutrient and beverages," the study said.

The ATSB commended Robinson Helicopters for providing factory-installed cameras and said it encouraged different manufacturers and owners to see the ongoing information benefits of akin devices.

In 2000, U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Jim Hall urged the Federal Aviation Administration to necessitate commercialized airliners beryllium equipped with cockpit representation recorders.

Hall's proposal came successful the aftermath of 1999's Egyptair Flight 990 crash, erstwhile the archetypal serviceman intentionally crashed the Boeing 767, according to the NTSB, sidesplitting each 217 radical connected board.

"In the equilibrium betwixt privateness and safety, the standard tips toward safety, unequivocally," aerial information adept and erstwhile commercialized hose aviator John Nance said. "Protecting the flying nationalist is simply a ineffable obligation."

Another aviation information expert, Anthony Brickhouse, said that arsenic an mishap investigator, helium is successful favour of cockpit video, but acknowledged that commercialized pilots person existent concerns.

Video connected Air India formation 171 "would person answered tons of questions," helium said.

Air India declined to comment. India's AAIB, which is expected to merchandise a last study wrong a twelvemonth of the clang nether planetary rules, did not reply to petition for comment.

PILOT OBJECTIONS

U.S. pilots' unions specified arsenic the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Allied Pilots Association (APA) accidental the dependable and information recorders already supply capable accusation to find the origin of a clang and that the cameras would beryllium an penetration of privateness and could beryllium misused.

Calls for cockpit cameras are an understandable absorption to "the accent of not knowing what happened instantly aft an accident," said APA spokesperson Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines pilot.

"I tin recognize the archetypal absorption of the much information, the better," but investigators already person capable information to adequately find an accident's cause, leaving nary request for cameras, helium said.

To marque flying safer, existent information systems should beryllium enhanced to grounds higher-quality data, alternatively than adding video cameras, an ALPA spokeperson said.

There are besides concerns the footage could beryllium utilized by airlines for disciplinary actions oregon that video could beryllium leaked to the nationalist aft a crash, said John Cox, an aviation information expert, retired hose aviator and erstwhile ALPA enforcement aerial information chairman.

A pilot's decease being broadcast connected "the 6 o'clock quality is not thing that the pilot's household should ever person to spell through," helium said.

If confidentiality tin beryllium assured astir the world, "I tin spot an argument" for installing cameras, Cox said.

Cockpit dependable recordings are typically kept confidential by investigators successful favour of partial oregon afloat transcripts being released successful last reports.

Despite that, International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations said it was skeptical that confidentiality could ever beryllium assured for cockpit videos.

"Given the precocious request for sensational pictures, IFALPA has perfectly nary uncertainty that the extortion of (airborne representation recorder) data, which tin see identifiable images of formation crewmembers, would not beryllium ensured either," the enactment said successful a statement.

Boeing declined to disclose whether customers are capable to bid cockpit video recorders, portion Airbus did not reply to petition for comment.

(Reporting by Dan Catchpole successful Seattle; Additional reporting by Jun Yuan Yong successful Singapore; Editing by Jamie Freed)