Wino ...correct, there is one secret Federal court with a panel of judges who deal with subjects as you had mentioned, primarily items dealing with clandestine investigations concerning national security. I was referring to the other 99% of Federal courts where public access cannot arbitrarily be banned; the exceptions include testimony involving classified information.
Radar... Miniturized video technology has become an inescapable part of every day life. It doesn't matter whether you're at an airport terminal, or in a hotel lobby, at an ATM machine, or at your favorite supermarket...Your face is recorded and stored in somebody's machine, and you don't have any control over the process.
Soon this technology
will find its way into the cockpit, but in such a way as not to offend pilots. The video heads will be positioned only to show the instrument panels, pedestal and glareshield. At most, only a pilot's hands or arms will be recorded. It is a necessary modern day tool to help investigate airplane incidents and accidents.
Many moons ago AA had closed circuit TV in its DC-10 cockpits. Pax could watch takeoffs and landings at the Captain's discretion; pax could also select the VHF radio channel and listen to ATC. In that setup, the pilots were visible. It was a novelty as much as it was a marketing gig back then.
The SU990 B763 recovery and crash investigation cost US taxpayers 17 Million (The Egyptian government had payed an additional 5 Million), just to prove that there was no mechanical problem. Video cams could have recorded F/O Batouty's fingers as he had toggled the fuel ignition switches to the off position.
There are many transport category accidents and incidents where recorded video of instruments and switches could have shortened the investigative process in assigning a probable cause. As pilots, we need to know how to prevent incidents and accidents. That knowledge comes from thorough investigations with help from modern high tech tools.
