Attention Media - Get With The Times
Is it just me, or are other aviation professionals sick to death of the media calling Cockpit Voice and Flight Data Recorders "Black Boxes" ??
The industry hasn't specifically called these units "black boxes" ever since I can remember, and I believe that the term originated as a generic description for avionics equipment back in the dark ages.
TO THE MEDIA - ITS A COCKPIT VOICE RECORDER AND/OR A FLIGHT DATA RECORDER. EVERY TIME YOU CALL THESE DEVICES BLACK BOXES YOU SOUND LIKE IDIOTS, AND CLEARLY LACK THE PROFESSIONALISM (UNDERSTANDING??) TO REFER TO THINGS BY THEIR CORRECT NAME. PLEASE STOP IT.
One might argue that the media are referring to the equipment in terms that the public understands, and I counter this argument with a number of points........
1. Content in the media should be accurate, particularly in the news, using incorrect terminology is misleading.
2. The term cockpit voice recorder is widely recognised and self explanatory.
3. Part of the medias role, and increasingly more so is education, and using correct terminology is vital in education.
4. If you don't agree with the above, it's time you went back to calling Uluru Ayres Rock.
The media often attracts criticism for it's poor reporting on aviation incidents, and it's easy to see that much of this criticism is justified when writers continue to make fundamental mistakes like this. I hope that the media is smart enough to take this under advisement.