Airliners' Close Calls Put Cockpit Voice Recorders Under Microscope

Heroic, split-second decisions have saved hundreds of airline passengers’ and crew members' lives recently, as airliners have nearly collided at airports least six times since January. But safety investigators are unlikely to hear what was said in the cockpit when those planes nearly crashed.

The incidents, including close calls at New York/JFK, Burbank, and Austin, have gained Washington’s attention.   

“From our standpoint there are too many incidents that have occurred in too short of a time,” said Jennifer Homendy, Chair of The National Transportation Safety Board on NBC News. “Which is why we’re looking into these.” 

Congress has started asking questions, too. On Capitol Hill, the Federal Aviation Administration’s acting chief vowed action. “In light of some of these recent events… I have convened a safety summit and a safety review,” said Billy Nolen, the FAA’s acting administrator.   

That summit is next week, close to six years after a similar - and pivotal - SFO incident. 

Local Case; National Call for Upgrades

A landing Air Canada jet nearly touched down on a row of airliners waiting to take off. The SFO close call exposed a gap back in 2017 that can still hinder investigators today: audio recordings from inside the cockpit are often lost.

“They can be absolutely critical,” said Anthony Brickhouse Professor of Aerospace Safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “In a lot of accidents that we’ve seen, without the cockpit voice recorder or the flight data recorder, it would have been really hard or almost impossible to piece together what was happening.” 

Professor Brickhouse says he used to work at the NTSB, investigating crashes and close calls. 

“I’ve been investigating 25 years," he said. “The best way I can describe it is, it’s like putting a puzzle back together.”

Cockpit audio is often a missing piece. 

Brickhouse says the so-called “black box” that tapes airline pilots voice and other noises in the cockpit records over itself every two hours. The recorder can be stopped after an incident to save audio, but they often aren’t. In most, if not all of the recent close calls, the NTSB says it has no cockpit audio to analyze.

After pilot audio was lost in the SFO case in 2017, the NTSB recommended in 2018 that cockpit recorders be expanded to tape at least 25 hours

A 'Game Changer'

But almost five years later, the norm is still two hours. In many other countries, 25 hours is the standard.

“To have a 25-hour recording would really be a game-changer,” Brickhouse said.  

So, why are U.S. recorders still only taping for two hours? Former airline spokesman Ross Feinstein pointed to airline pilots.

“There’s some concern from the unions that the [airline] companies will use the cockpit voice recorders to spy on their employees - on the pilots in the cockpit of aircraft … which, ultimately, is not true,” he said. “They’re only used for safety issues.”

Pilots' Union Targets 'Abuse'

We contacted two major pilots’ unions. The Allied Pilots Association declined to comment. The Airline Pilots Association, or APLP, did not respond to us. In a flier for members, ALSA says recorders “are in airline cockpits because of ALPA — which also continues to fight to prevent their abuse.”

What about the airlines? We contacted the major carriers. Only Southwest Airlines responded. It referred us to the airlines lobbying group, Airlines For America. A4A said its members support 25-hour recordings. It noted, many details “need to be addressed,” and it is “committed to working through those issues.”

In many recent close calls, the jets involved just flew on. The pilots’ audio was erased before safety investigators were even told the planes had nearly crashed. Some say regulators should start requiring an immediate stop for all planes involved in any close call. 

“Maybe it’s time for the FAA to say these aircraft should not take off,” Feinstein said.

For passengers like you, flying remains the safest form of travel. Still, those missing recordings are likely to make more news soon. The FAA is planning its safety summit in Washington, D.C. next Wednesday. The FAA has the authority to order longer recordings – to, perhaps, help ensure your future flights are safer.

We’ll let you know what happens.