So why aren't small planes equipped with black boxes?

Question

Small planes crash at a higher rate than larger planes,so...

Answer 1

Two reasons, Cost and Weight. Many small aircraft are designed for VFR flight only (training and fun flying) and as such, do not require all the necessary equipment for IFR flight (Instrument flight) and night flight. The instrument panel has to be set up with many more instruments for IFR and this information is fed constantly to the Black box flight recorders. Because light GA aircraft make many flight cycles, often dozens a day, if say used for flight training, it would be both impractical and expensive to download and store all this information for flights usually made in clear skys and of short duration. Also the extra weight of a black box and it's ancillery equipment would reduce the aircraft payload (passenger capacity) from say four to three people. The awful truth is also that with airliners and freighters and the large distances they travel, if there is a disaster, often there is no one to tell why an accident happened as they are out over oceans or at great heights. The information gleaned from the black boxes, which are actually orange in color, is used so that accidents can be prevented in future.

Answer 2

Unlike a commercial airliner that has complex computerized systems that may collect useful post crash data. Small aircraft have simple systems that NTSB investigators have little problem in determining if a failure occurred resulting in the crash. Very little data could be obtained from the mechanical control systems of small aircraft. Generally information from those on the ground that may witness the event and post examination of the wreckage yields a fairly quick answer to the cause. Black box technology is quite expensive and simply will not integrate with these simple systems.

Answer 3

The FAA doesn't require them. The NTSB Has made numerous recommendations to change that, but the FAA has not acted on it yet. The FAA feels that it would be too much of a monetary burden on private pilots, causing alot of people to stop flying all together.

It is true that alot of details are obtained in a small aircraft crash by looking at the clues and analysis, but a black box also records cockpit conversations. This could be an invaluable piece of evidence to the investigators. One cannot determine who was flying at the time of a crash, or what was said between two pilots by looking at the physical evidence. This would be extremely helpful in the Lidle crash. Maybe their conversation has a clue as to what happened.

Answer 4

Small plane crashes are easier to investigate due to thier simplicity and lower speed (thus less damage). Causes for small plane crashes are pretty black and white (ran out of fuel, encountered icing, engine failure, etc)

Installing black boxes would also be too costly for many private owners to bear; the cost of the black box being comparable to the value of the small aircraft.

Answer 5

There are 2 varieties of "black bins": the Flight archives Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). each recorder is provided with an Underwater Locator Beacon (ULB) to help find interior the form of an overwater twist of destiny. The device referred to as a "pinger", is activated whilst the recorder is immersed in water. It transmits an acoustical sign on 37.5 KHz which could be detected with a definite receiver. The beacon can transmit from depths right down to fourteen,000 ft. For non-immersion place looking, searchers place self assurance in the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) which could be tracked via satellite tv for pc to boot as floor-based and aerial path looking kit. The greater present day ones additionally transmit GPS coordinates. a common ELT has approximately 5 watts of transmitting skill. no longer all plane are required to hold the so-referred to as "black bins" (that are orange, by the kind), and the requirement for "black bins" relies upon on the size and form of plane and how it quite is getting used (privately or commercially). on condition that all this kit (FDR, CVR, ELT) is battery operated, the sign strengths degrade over the years because of fact the batteries lose their charge.

Answer 6

because theres not really much a black box would do in a small airplane they probaly could figure out why they crashed just by using the sources they have V.S. a big jet airliner they can look at the black box and change something so it wont happen again

Answer 7

The FAA does not require them. Just that simple

Answer 8

because not as much of a chance somethin will go wrong

Answer 9

because they aren't fly in international air tunnels & they carry afew people & they are very cheaper than commericals.

Answer 10

because you are expendable

Yes, that is the real answer, no one cares about two people here or there.