Originally Posted by
lomapaseo
It ain't the DFDR recording limitation that just meets or slightly exceeds the regulated requirement, it's the availability of aircraft system sensors and wire routings that sets the actual limit.
I know, and I don't disagree, but the more modern types have moved away from point-to-point wiring to bus-based systems. That allows you to simplify the scarily complex wiring looms (or to do more with the same level of scarily complex). The 777 is ARINC 629 bus, which is multi-transmitter (and more advanced than anything other big jet until you get to 664 / AFDX on the A380 / 787), which should provide a lot of help with this issue.
Best public reference I've got for parameters recorded on a recent jet is for N651AA (flight 965, crashed in columbia). Quoted in various places as recording approx 300 parameters (see eg.
Hall's Testimony on March 7, 1996). That is some way over the minimum (which is still 88 I think).
That flight was a 757 with previous generation (ARNIC 429) bus - so I would expect the wiring on a 777 to be able to route at least that many parameters to the FDR & QAR.
With that said I really don't know what parameters were recorded for BA038
Nor do I, and I doubt we'll be told.