I think that this now shows that the idea of just the onboard black boxes must change...Airfrance and now this crash must push for an external radio recording device to be retro fitted to all transport planes a.s.a.p.
Agreed.
When recorders were developed, all you could do was record the data onto a local device, make the device as indestructible as possible, and hope it could be found in the event of a crash.
In 2014, that seems almost quaint.
It's like backing up important files on your laptop to a separate folder on the same laptop. Pretty much useless if your laptop gets stolen.
I do understand pilots concerns about privacy. But the reality is that most people do have to be a bit discreet about conversations they have in their workplace.
Perhaps the solution is to have the data stored at a central location (e.g. NTSB), only to be accessed as part of a formal investigation, and not routinely available to company management.