Flight data recorders

Airbus has begun talks with the European regulator European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on proposals to make ejectable flight data recorders available on its two largest models, the A380 and the new A350, potentially making them the first commercial planes to use the technology.

Airbus said it was also not ruling out expanding the use of ejectable recorders, which combine both voice and data recordings, to new versions of the A330 and A320.

The talks with EASA come as global aviation authorities consider recommending the devices to make it easier to recover evidence in cases such as the 28 December crash of AirAsia flight QZ8501, whose data recorders took over two weeks to recover after difficult searches.

Used in military planes for decades, ejectable or "deployable" recorders separate from the tail during a crash and float, while emitting a satellite distress signal.

"Airbus is working with EASA and other stakeholders to advance the approval of such a solution industry-wide," said a spokesman for the European plane maker.  "In the future, applicability for our other aircraft products could be likewise considered, but presently we have decided to focus on the A350 and A380," he added.  www.airbus.com

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