Questions from a "lay man."
How long does the flight recorders continually record data before recycling? I've seen reports of the last 30 minutes of the flight?
If there was a depressurization event and the pilot lost conscious after setting the AP to the new course. The plane would continue until running out of fuel correct? Is there a "deadman" switch similar to a train? If the recorder only records the last 30 minutes and the plane continued for 2-3 hours after the "event" would the recorders even be useful?