Cockpit Video CamerasThe Issues Essay Example For Students

Cockpit Video CamerasThe Issues Essay IntroductionThe National Transportation Board has recommended to the Federal Aviation Administration that all FAR Part 121, 125, and 135 passenger-carrying aircraft be equipped with cockpit video recorders, cockpit voice recorders and digital flight data recorders (Rimmer, 2000). The use of flight data information has been very useful to the National Transportation Safety Board for solving countless aircraft accidents and mishaps. The recent surge for the upgraded equipment, especially the cockpit video recorders, stems from the crashes of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades, Swissair Flight 111, which crashed off the coast of Halifax, and more recently the EgyptAir 990 crash (?Safety Board Favors Cameras For Cockpits,? 2000). The current equipment used in the aircraft today is the Cockpit Voice Recorder and the Flight Data Recorder. The cockpit voice recorder records the radio transmissions between the pilots and the air traffic controllers who guide the planes to their des ignated areas in the air and on the ground. The cockpit voice recorder also records the sounds inside the cockpit between pilots, stall warning signals, engine noise, landing gear extension and retraction, weather briefs, and any other abnormal noises (Barker, 1999). The flight data recorder monitors certain parameters of the actual airplane such as the altitude, airspeed, compass heading, vertical acceleration and time (Maharry, 2000). DefinitionThe National Transportation Safety Board wants to upgrade existing flight data recorders and implement cockpit video recorders for safety reasons and to help solve commercial airline crashes. The airline pilots are against the idea of the cockpit recorders due to the fact that they will be on camera at all times and feel that this is a breach of privacy and the film could be leaked to the media (Sher, 2000). Affected PrinciplesThe National Transportation Safety Board has cited that with the help of the cockpit video recorders accidents can be solved more quickly (?Safety Board Favors Cameras For Cockpits,? 2000). Pilots oppose the use of the cameras stating that it is a breach of privacy into the pilots workspace (Sher, 2000). Unions such as the Air Line Pilots Association think very much the same as the pilots do. The unions think that todays technology is sufficient enough so that cockpit video recorders are not necessary (Mann, 2000). The victims and the lawyers represen ting the victims want to be active participants in the National Transportation Safety Board investigation (Richfield, 2000). The upgrades and the cockpit video recorders can be beneficial to the airlines themselves. The cockpit video recorders may determine if there were flaws in the manufacturing of the aircraft or pilot error. The passengers who board the aircraft everyday will stand to benefit from the information emotionally and economically; confidence in the government to solve these issues is paramount (Hall, 1999). How Principles Are AffectedThe National Transportation Safety Board wants the cameras to show the whole cockpit to include all crewmembers. The NTSB has stated that the faces of the pilots will not be necessary in the implementation of the video cameras. Two hours of color video will be in constant use in the cockpits. The cameras need to be color due to the color coordination of some of the flight screens in the cockpit. The use of the camera can show the actual settings of the instruments also. The video can be compared to what the flight data recorder indicates. This information can be critical if both recordings show different readings (?Safety Board Calls For Cameras In The Cockpit,? 2000). The National Transportation Safety Board has indicated that the circuit breaker to the camera will be inaccessible to any of the crew during flight. This decision arises from the idea that the pilot from SilkAir737 pulled the circuit breaker to the flight data recorder before allegedly crashi ng the plane. (?Safety Board Calls For Cameras In The Cockpit,? 2000). The National Transportation Safety Board, along with taxpayers, will also be affected economically with the implementation of the recorders. Currently, the National Transportation Safety Board has spent more than 13 million dollars and 2,400 workdays trying to solve the crash of EgyptAir 990. Economic projections for this crash may run as high as 17 million dollars before the investigation is either solved or unsolved (Mann, 2000). The pilots of the airlines are concerned that the actual cockpit video recordings might be leaked to the public. Images such as these would then be put on tabloid television for the world to see (Sher, 2000). Pilots are also concerned that the flight data may or will be used against them in court. The pilots also think that the information may be used against them by the airlines to impose disciplinary actions (Richfield, 2000). In March 2000, a New Zealand pilot was charged with manslaughter for killing four people on his aircraft. Pilots view the video recorders as an infringement on their privacy in their workplace (Bill, 2000). A United DC-9 pilot was quoted as saying, Itll be just like the old Soviet Union, with Big Brother watching you, (Carley, 2000). The cockpit is their office and pilots think that the camera is being unjustly used to monitor their actions (Bill, 2000). Unions such as the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) think the usefulness of the camera is over-rated. Wi th todays modern technology, the upgrades to existing recorders and the implementation of Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) program should provide enough information for safety purposes (Mann, 2000). The Flight Operations Quality Assurance program is designed so that the flight data information is saved to disk therefore capturing all information instead of the minimal recording time mandated by Federal Aviation Administration. The disk is then downloaded at the headquarters of that particular airline for review. The computer then reads all the information from the disk and captures any readings that are out of character for the flight, thereby isolating any problems with the pilots actions or the aircraft itself. (Maharry, 2000). The Air Line Pilots Association also wants a law in place to bar the release of information on the video data recorders (Lieb, 2000). The victims and the lawyers representing the families of the victims of these tragic accidents want all flight da ta to be accessible so that the information can be used in a court of law. It is the perception of the lawyers and victims that the government is providing a secure and sheltered environment for the airline industry on these issues (Richfield, 2000). The airline organizations and designers can use the information retrieved in the wreckage to identify exactly what happened in those last few minutes in a different way. The data analyzed can determine if there was a flaw in the design of the aircraft. Information such as this, if it can be determined, can help to fix other aircraft immediately before another mishap occurs. These findings can also help redesign new aircraft that may be sitting on the assembly line or in the development stage. The information can be very helpful to determine that mechanical failure did not cause the demise of the airplane. This information can then be used to see if pilot error was the factor (Hall, 1999). Self Managed Teams EssayBibliographyAsker, J. R. (2000, April 17). Say what? Aviation Week Space Technology, 152(16), 35. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers?5=deea050c59aef04a72844a0930be17eaBarker, A. (1999). Blackbox flight recorders and cockpit voice recorders. United Kingdom: University of Bath. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~en9ajb/blackbox.htmBill, C. (2000, March 31). New Zealand pilot charged with manslaughter-IFALPA protest. Retrieved October 7, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ifalpa.org/Press%20Release/00PRL017_NZ_Pilot_Manslaughter_Charge.PDFCarley, W. M. (2000, April 7). Talk of cameras in cockpits faces opposition from pilots. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 5, 2000 from the World Wide Web: http://home.pacific.net.sg/~aries8/wsj07042000.htmFrenzel, R. H. 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D1 Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Business NewsBank site: http://infoweb4.newsbank.com/cgi_bin/english/fresults.pl?p_product=BZNBp_state=7lm85j.5.lp_textl=cockpit%20video%20recorderp_nb_dblist=BZNB%2CGNOL%2CNFIWp_nb_fra mes=no%7C%3A%7Cnop_nb_id=U5AU4EQDZ2VodGltZW9mZGF50jE6MTI6MTUyLjlwLjl1LjgOp_nb_lastdb=GNOLp_nb_sortchoice=Bestp_thfield+ALLp_plural=nop_search=keywordp_STP=p_lang=Englishp_f_type=keywordqueue=yesp_M1=p_D1=p_Y1=p_MZ=db__MZ=p_D2=p_Y2Mann, P. (2000, April 17). Lawmakers skeptical about cockpit video, psych tests. Aviation Week Space Technology, 152 (16), 74-76. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers?5=894726e2348e56895b0dd288b34d9469Richfield, P. (2000, June 26). Safety data collection spurs controversy. The Weekly of Business Aviation, 86 (6), 38. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexus.com/univers?5=b9d50206f0a7738ff1b42a0045fb1b59Rimmer, D. (2000, May). NTSB asks for cockpit video recorders. Business and Commercial Aviation, 86, 19. Safety board calls for cameras in the cockpit.(2000, April 17). Air Safety Week, 14 (16), Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers?5=87402bd3d4c9262e633962ae51e70884Safety board favors cameras for cockpits.(2000, April 12). The New York Times, p. A26. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers?5=f40a225dc77e49607350f90f309d3314Sher, A. (2000, April 12). Safety board favors cockpit video recorders: Union fears invasion of pilots privacy. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, p. A3. Retrieved September 1, 2000 from the Lexus- Nexus Academic Universe: http://web.lexis-nexis.com/univers?5=c820cc703dcd664d978a9bbebd96e4f0