Agreed, however its not necessarily about the actual crash recorder, it's also about the means of collecting data from all the various parameters prior to sending to the recorder. That said, it is much easier with modern digital helicopters where much of the data already exists on a digital data bus somewhere. For these, there seems scant justification for not fitting a recorder.
If it's a MGB failure, they may mandate HUMS on all UK civil helicopters not just O&G? Along with a CVFDR cost, this would push the price of the helicopter up quite a notch but what's the price on safety? Why is HUMS and CVFDR only mandatory on larger type passenger carrying aircraft? This incident has claimed 9 lives, the last O&G crash, just 4, there shouldn't be a distinction, human lives lost are human lives lost.
As for a lot of posters on here with the ''let's wait on the AAIB report''
bore off. Without the speculation posts, what would this thread consist of? What is the purpose of this forum if we are not allowed to voice our thoughts? It may be a good year before an AAIB report is released so should we just twiddle our thumbs and remain in silence until then? Get real, its 2013, this is the internet, don't like it, don't read it, but dont clog the thread up with drivel of how its wrong to speculate.
