neville_nobody wrote: [11th Jan 2015, 06:41]
I don't think that Qatar's idea of recording cockpit voices then saving in a company controlled data centre is really going to do much other than get more pilots fired. Not hard in today's world of big data to scan everything flight conversation.
It's the beginning of the end IMHO.
JSmithDTV responded:
Interesting that on a pilots forum that this is a concern... shouldn't the concern be elsewhere?
JSmith
JSmith, why do you find that concern so unusual or "interesting"? Suppose you viewed a forum in which American police officers were discussing their professional concerns.
I'd wager a primary topic right now is recent demands to have American police officers always wear cameras and microphones while on duty, so that everything the officers say and do is recorded.
Some officers would be expressing concern how this could adversely impact them by invading privacy (e.g, recording comments about fellow employees, issues at home, or even that pretty female dispatcher). It also could lead to management overhearing adverse comments about supervisors or political figures, which might result in some officers being disciplined or fired.
Few, if any, employees are thrilled about having management monitoring every word said, let alone potentially storing it in a permanent (and searchable) database. Airline pilots are no different.
Access to CVRs presently is limited to serious incidents. Pilots understandably prefer to keep it that way. The concern expressed by Neville_Nobody is that if real-time streaming begins, it will be impossible to maintain that level of protection, regardless of what promises are made initially.
That seems like a legitimate concern, and certainly well within the bounds of what is an "appropriate" post on a professional pilot forum. (Speaking as a passenger who has a personal interest in airline safety, yet also recognizes the perils of surrendering all of our rights and privacy in exchange for an illusion of safety.)