Le Bourget i år - ELT - Endelig noen som har hørt på fornuft

Deployable Black Box Should Be Easier To Locate

Airbus is developing automatic deployable (ejectable) flight recorders, which it suggests could be fitted on new airliners beginning in 2019. The European airframer has partnered with U.S. company L3 Com to design the system, which will include two recorder units—each consisting of a flight data recorder and a voice recorder. One unit would be installed in the front of the aircraft, while the second one would be ejectable from the tail, with a spring system and CO2 cartridge. The ejection would deploy if sensors detected airframe deformation or water immersion. A retrofit for existing aircraft will be possible but extremely expensive, said Airbus. With this new system, the ejected recorders would float on the surface with an underwater locator beacon (ULB) broadcasting for 90 days, per new ICAO rules that take effect in January 2018. This ULB will also broadcast in low frequencies (8.8 kHz) with a range of 22 kilometers (14 miles) compared with the five kilometers (three miles) of previous systems. The ULB attached to current recorders broadcasts for only 30 days, far less time than has been shown to be needed for search-and-rescue teams, especially when the debris lies 3,000 meters or more below the surface of the ocean.