QAR = Quick Access Recorder
As you probably know there are 2 recorders in the tail. One a voice recorder the other a flight data recorder.
Originally they were designed to gather voice and data from the flight so that if an accident rendered the crew incapable of telling the story then the investigators could work out what happened from the info on the recorders.
In the new age of aviation these recorders (the data recorder mostly) are used for Flight Operations Quality Assurance by many airlines. As a result they are now fitted with removable disks that maint personnel can quickly access, collect and send to the relevent department before putting fresh disks in for subsequent flights.
How this data is used varies from airline to airline. At my current airline there are some 96 (I think) trigger events that will raise a red flag for investigation. Events such as flaps extended above placard speed, unstable approaches etc.
The data is sent to the relevant department on disks at the end of each day (depending on where the fleet is). Only the trigger events are looked at as it would take a large airline a huge team, and ammount of money, to wade through all data on all flights.
The question of this event trigering a red flag would depend on the airlines settings. It would be captured but not necessarily trigger a red flag.
The jury is out on the recorders use in this fashion. Certainly for a reponsible airline with a good safety culture it can be a useful tool. For an airline keen to punish offenders (such as mine - and I mean US $ fines for errors) it has the opposite effect and just results in crews flying to avoid triggers.
Hope that helps.
(edited for inclusion of reasoning for use of "Quick Access" term)
Last edited by Clive; 17th Oct 2006 at 01:16.