NTSB · Safety Recommendation
Safety Recommendation A-15-001
Recommendation
TO THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: Require that all aircraft used in extended overwater operations and operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (1) Part 121 or (2) Part 135 that are required to have a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder, be equipped with a tamper-resistant method to broadcast to a ground station sufficient information to establish the location where an aircraft terminates flight as the result of an accident within 6 nautical miles of the point of impact.
Safety Issue and Context
The NTSB has long been concerned about rapid recovery of recorded information to guide investigations, help determine accident causes, and develop recommendations to prevent recurrences. To focus attention on this issue, the NTSB convened its Emerging Flight Data and Locator Technology Forum on October 7, 2014, in Washington, D.C. Forum discussions among government, industry, and investigative experts helped identify the following safety issues: • Need for improved technologies to locate aircraft wreckage and flight recorders following an accident in a remote location or over water
• Need for timely recovery of critical flight data following an accident in a remote location or over water This letter presents recommendations to address these safety issues and discusses open recommendations regarding cockpit image recorders and the need to protect flight recorder systems against intentional or inadvertent deactivation.
Response History
November 20, 2024 · NTSB Correspondence · FAA
On November 20, 2024, FAA staff informed us that the agency is continuing the work described in its May 23, 2023, letters regarding Safety Recommendations A-13-12 and -13 and A-18-30, and its May 30, 2023, letter regarding Safety Recommendations A-15-1 through -4, -7, and -8. We look forward to receiving your next update.
November 8, 2023 · NTSB Correspondence · FAA
We note that you continue to work with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to better define the Global Aviation Distress and Safety System (GADSS) and Location of an Aircraft in Distress Repository (LADR), develop an ICAO guidance document on complying with GADSS, and research the quality and effectiveness of Space-Based Automatic (SBA) Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) to determine if it would meet the intent of the ICAO distress tracking requirement.
We believe your continued work with ICAO is responsive to this recommendation. Pending completion of that work and a requirement to equip applicable aircraft with the recommended technology, Safety Recommendation A-15-1 remains classified OPEN-- ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE.
May 30, 2023 · Recipient Response · FAA
-From Billy Nolen, Acting Administrator: As mentioned in our previous letters, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to work with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and our international partners to:
Better define the Global Aviation Distress and Safety System (GADSS) and Location of an Aircraft in Distress Repository;
Research Space-Based Automatic (SBA) Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B);
Research SBA ADS-B for Low Frequency-Underwater Location Device;
Define Timely Recovery of Flight Data (TRFD);