25-Hour CVR Mandate is a Huge Step Forward in Flight Safety

Cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) improve aviation safety by continuously recording cockpit conversations and sounds. These recordings provide critical information used by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other agencies in accident and incident investigations.

By understanding what went on in the cockpit during and before an incident, investigators often can identify issues and recommend improvements that can help prevent future incidents and make aviation safer overall.

To quote Tim LeBaron, director of the NTSB Office of Aviation Safety:

“CVRs are among the most valuable tools for accident investigation because they provide contemporaneous information on flight crew intentions and coordination as well other factors, such as procedural compliance, workload, fatigue and situational awareness. This information is critical to our ability to conduct more thorough investigations and target safety recommendations more effectively.”

FAA Reauthorization Act Boosts CVR Value

CVR technology is about to become even more useful thanks to a provision of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2024, which was passed by Congress in May. The act requires all commercial aircraft in the U.S. – both new and existing – to be equipped with 25-hour cockpit recording devices.

Current-generation CVRs record just the last two hours of audio. The NTSB reports that at least 14 investigations since 2018 have been hampered because CVR data were overwritten before the CVR was powered down. These include highly publicized incidents like the Alaskan Airlines inflight exit door plug separation and a spate of at least seven 2023 runway incursions.

Formal FAA rulemaking on the 25-hour CVR mandate is forthcoming, but airlines will likely need to retrofit their existing fleets by 2030 at the latest. However, airlines can accelerate the safety benefits by adopting the 25-hour CVR earlier through a simple box swap.

CVRs meeting the 25-hour mandate deliver a variety of benefits:

• Enhanced Accident Investigation: With 25 hours of audio and datalink messages, investigators will have access to a more comprehensive timeline of events, which will be especially useful if the incident occurs during departure or in the middle of an extended flight. Recordings are frequently overwritten with a two-hour recording.
• Improved Safety Recommendations: Longer recordings allow for better analysis, which can lead to more informed safety recommendations and policy changes to prevent future incidents.
• Compliance with International Standards: Aligning with international regulations, such as those set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), ensures consistency and enhances global aviation safety.

Honeywell and Curtiss-Wright Deliver Ready-Now CVR Technology

Honeywell and Curtiss-Wright are prepared to help customers comply with the new mandate with the ready-now Honeywell Connected Recorder-25 (HCR-25).

Honeywell and Curtiss-Wright share a legacy in crash-protected recorders – each company has been producing recorders for more than six decades. In 2019, the two companies agreed to work together to develop the next generation of mandate-compliant, connected voice and data recorders.

The HCR-25 is based on Curtiss-Wright’s compact, lightweight Fortress® CVR technology and Honeywell’s proven Honeywell Flight Recorder 5 (HFR5) design concept. It received EASA Technical Standard Order (TSO) certification in 2021 and was type-certified for Boeing 737, 767 and 777 production aircraft in 2023. Additional certifications are expected.

Honeywell has delivered more than 1,000 units to Boeing and airline customers so far, with more deliveries in the pipeline.

The HCR-25 CVR is complemented by the HCR-25 Flight Data Recorder (FDR), to provide a complete flight recording solution that meets the latest regulations while anticipating future requirements.

Meet Tomorrow’s ‘Black Box in the Sky’

The HCR-25 essentially becomes a “black box in the sky.” In an industry first, the HCR-25 FDR supports the timely recovery of flight data (TRFD) as recommended by ICAO as part of the Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS).

Using satellite communications capabilities, the connected recorder can stream flight data over a 24/7 cybersecure connection to a data center. This capability is invaluable because it enables investigators to analyze the data almost immediately, without having to wait for the physical FDR to be recovered. In some cases, such as accidents occurring over water, recovery can take months or even years.

For airlines, the HCR-25 FDR can serve as a real time access recorder (RTAR) enabling near to real time access to flight data to support flight operations and maintenance use cases, such as flight operations quality assurance (FOQA) and predictive maintenance to reduce aircraft downtime. The airline can choose to download some or all flight data continuously, periodically or on request.

Enabled by Honeywell Connected Aircraft software, the recorder can collect data on more than 1,000 parameters including aircraft attitude, airspeed, heading, fuel levels and engine performance.