Ryan Ewing
Ryan is Sr. Director of Digital for Firecrown's Aviation Group. In 2013, he founded AirlineGeeks.com, a leading trade publication covering the airline industry. Since then, his work has been featured in several publications and news outlets, including CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. During his time in the airline industry, he's worked in roles pertaining to airport/airline operations while holding a B.S. in Air Transportation Management from Arizona State University along with an MBA. Previously, he worked for a Part 135 operator and later a major airline. Ryan is also an Adjunct Instructor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Absolutely not. FDR and CVR give raw data that is easily interpreted and not open to conjecture. Video is interpreted by the eyes of each individual viewing. Each of us have our biases. It is incredibly easy to manipulate after it is released, resulting in “conclusive video evidence”.
And FDR and CVR data are not as easy to manipulate?
Other than pulling the breaker or attempting to erase the CVR, no. As far as the media it is written as a transcript and not open to interpretation.
Would you like to be monitored every second at your work place?
Let’s add CVR, FDR & video to your car….
CVR data can be misunderstood .. I did military accident investigation and we would spend hours listening to what was said.. often coming up with “unintelligible” or “unrelated conversation”
This would add yet another layer of voyeurism and liability to an already challenging job. CVR/FDR data is already being attacked as a source of information for liability cases. All pilot unions are against this. It is incredibly invasive - we live up front, locked in for hours. NO.
Let me know when city/highway buses, tractor trailers, cabs, ubers, couriers all get CVR/FDR & video.
So we can watch the fight ? Why not. However, for the sake of passenger safety, we have to develop fully automated aircraft, with a link to an ops center that can make the decisions and assume control. Perhaps 1st gen will still have a pilot on board. This ruptures the image of the macho captain in control of it all, but obviously we have to stop the few rotten apples and the 99.9% decent pilots will indeed pay the price for them few suicidal colleagues. I’m sorry but pax safety trumps pilot egos. Obviously, fully automated aircraft can manage separation and hence no ATC required either (just basic monitoring by a computer watching out for anomalies). The discussion about the cockpit camera sounds very 1990s to me.
To err is human, to really foul things up requires a computer.
Don’t forget, computers are programmed by humans, AI is programmed by humans, when AI makes AI, it was originally programmed by humans.
Finally, a use for previously useless uniform caps. The camera will make a convenient place to hang it over. If the lens is flush, crews will carry masking tape in their flight bags.
Oh please no. This is a terrible idea. Any computer link that allows someone else to “assume control” will definitely, 100% be used by criminals or terrorists. There exist no computer networks anywhere that cannot and have not been hacked. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably trying to sell you a “miracle technology” that is simply snake oil.
Please, I’m not boasting, since thousands of pilots have a lot more experience than myself. But, I’ll start by giving my experience anyway to hopefully give my response a little credibility. Soloed a C-172 in 1967, high-performance military jets (command pilot/check airman) until 1992, Pt.121 (captain/check airman) for US airline in B-737&A-320’s until 2008, and Pt91 (international captain) for foreign privately owned B-737CJ & A320ACJ until retired 2018, with 20,000+ hours. Probably shouldn’t have done that, because I know the s-replies will soon follow. Anyway—
MY Q&A Answers: # 1 - NO! # 2 - NO!! # 3. If Q&A follow, then always refer back to #1 and #2.
Do we need all the grand-standing, the finger pointing, or the cover-their-#s, and all of them giving their “expert” advice? You know them: the Big-brother politicians, the national&international compliance agencies, aircraft manufactures, the management elites, and inputting all their feel good policies and procedure dying (whoops, I ment trying to look like their helping?.
Can you offer a single example of an actual accident that video recording would have prevented somehow?
It is possible to dream up hypothetical scenarios. But any ACTUAL?
The aircraft had 0.000 means to prevent the fuel shut-off during the flights most critical phase and that seems to be acceptable standard in todays world.
I don’t think anyone argued that cockpit video would have prevented anything. It would provide answers.
We already have sufficient regulations in place. Simple answer: NO
Any changes we make to systems in the cockpit ought to be made after a determination based upon a rigorous review of copious data, that it is very, very likely to improve outcomes and very unlikely to make matters worse.
Curiosity is human and normal and I share it. But it is far from clear how the tech suggested would actually change any outcomes. It is also possible that such changes could have a negative impact. Satisfying my curiosity is not worth risking any negative change in outcomes. you cannot observe anything without changing it.
Which would not change the outcome. And it is very unlikely to alter future cases. It only would satisfy our idle curiosity.