Originally Posted by
wrench1
The investigation is protected by regulation/law and the CVR recordings/transcripts are protected by Congressional mandate where even the NTSB are not allowed to disclose them. There have been rare disclosures in the past but I doubt seriously this will be one.
Actually, CVR transcripts are normally published by the NTSB at a hearing or when the accident docket is made public online.
From the NTSB website:
...under federal law, transcripts of pertinent portions of cockpit voice recordings are released at a Safety Board public hearing on the accident or, if no hearing is held, when a majority of the factual reports are made public.
https://www.ntsb.gov/news/pages/cvr_fdr.aspx
From the NTSB CVR Handbook:
14.3. Per 49 USC Section1114(c), a factual report with a transcript is released to the public only under the following circumstances (see 49 USC Section 1114(c)–Disclosure, availability, and use of information).
14.3.1. In the event that a public hearing is held, the CVR factual report with the attached transcript shall be released into the public docket at the time of the public hearing. The general public, including parties to the investigation, may not receive the CVR transcript prior to the time of the public hearing.
14.3.2. In the event that a public hearing is not held, the CVR factual report is released into the public docket only when the majority of the factual reports are placed into the docket. The general public, including parties to the investigation, may not receive the CVR transcript prior to the time the transcript is placed into the public docket.
https://www.ntsb.gov/news/pages/cvr_fdr.aspx
Much of what in the past would be transcribed as 'non-pertinent conversation' is now included verbatim in the published transcript. Expletives may be deleted from the transcript as deemed necessary according to the CVR Handbook.