The Aircraft Black Box: Is It Time For Video Recording?

[NYCA News]

NYCAviation:

The Aircraft Black Box: Is It Time For Video Recording?

Aircraft flight data and cockpit voice recorders have advanced dramatically in recent years. They have transitioned from an analog recording of a very small set of flight parameters, to advanced digital solid state recordings of over a hundred critical parameters and data points. Time after time, these “black boxes” help to unlock the mystery of [...]
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[Zee71]

In terms of videos ..... It would be beneficial in my view to have cockpit videos as well as outfitting major airport runways with video recordings as well to capture takeoffs and landings. The major issue for airport video recordings would be cost. Given the issue with the US debt, I wouldn't except to see this anytime soon, even though it makes sense.

I recall from spending a few days aboard an aircraft carrier and viewing flight ops, each carrier landing is taped and reviewed. Also, given that there are video cameras of some sort all over in our daily life it begs the question "Why not have video recorders at the runways?". Time will tell if in the future airports go in that direction.

[yankees368]

If states and cities across the nation are able to put up thousands of video camera all connected via fiber to a central monitoring station, surely airports can do it on the runways.
Heck, airports already have thousands of cameras recording 24/7, what is a few more?

[Zee71]

Couldn't agree more!

[megatop412]

I don't know why this hasn't been done for the past several years already

I guess our emails, texts, and phone calls are more important.

[moose135]

Cockpit videos: Pilot unions have already raised hell over the mere mention of them, as they feel they don't add enough additional information that isn't already available through the FDR and CVR to offset any privacy concerns over access to the videos.

Runway videos: It might be neat to have, but honestly, given the cost of installing and maintaining several cameras at the end of each runway, networked into a central server, at every airport with commercial service, what would the value be? Yes, they would have provided a nice view of Saturday's SFO crash, but how many crashes are there to start with, then how many of them happen right at the end of a runway where the cameras might (assuming weather and available light) allow you to see what happened. And again, given the FDR and CVR data, how much more would those videos add to the crash investigation. Yes, on USN aircraft carriers, all traps are recorded and reviewed, for training and evaluation purposes. Do you really thing airlines would pay for the cost of a system of cameras at every airport to monitor and evaluate every landing their crews make? Never mind what the pilot unions would say when the airlines tried to get that included as part of the new contract.

[megatop412]

Cockpit videos: Pilot unions have already raised hell over the mere mention of them, as they feel they don't add enough additional information that isn't already available through the FDR and CVR to offset any privacy concerns over access to the videos.

Runway videos: It might be neat to have, but honestly, given the cost of installing and maintaining several cameras at the end of each runway, networked into a central server, at every airport with commercial service, what would the value be? Yes, they would have provided a nice view of Saturday's SFO crash, but how many crashes are there to start with, then how many of them happen right at the end of a runway where the cameras might (assuming weather and available light) allow you to see what happened. And again, given the FDR and CVR data, how much more would those videos add to the crash investigation. Yes, on USN aircraft carriers, all traps are recorded and reviewed, for training and evaluation purposes. Do you really thing airlines would pay for the cost of a system of cameras at every airport to monitor and evaluate every landing their crews make? Never mind what the pilot unions would say when the airlines tried to get that included as part of the new contract.

All due respect to pilots and how hard they work, screw the unions on this one. Privacy? There is no such thing anymore, especially in the modern workplace. They're not going to the bathroom, they're flying 300 people thousands of miles to a destination. No one's pay is being reduced. These are not private planes. Everybody is being watched in almost everything they do anymore, I'm surprised the carriers haven't been able to get their way on it yet.

I don't think cameras are needed at each runway threshold, but at least have one that has a general view of the field. Hell, Philadelphia is pretty much broke, and even they can afford to keep running the security cams on the corners(never mind that half of them are broken). Given that a higher percentage of air crashes are during takeoff and landing rather than during cruise, I'd say such a system would have a hell of a lot of value.