Am I the only one that is having issues imagining how you can make a detachable, floating recorder be:
A) Strong enough to survive the same impacts as the current design
B) Light enough to float without a huge amount of flotation aid
C) Installable in the aircraft without significant and expensive redesign and recertification.
Surely, to make it crash resistant, it needs to be made to the same standard as the current design. And that means heavy.
The heavier it is, the more aid it needs to float.
The more aid it needs to float, the bigger the overall package will be.
Assuming of of course the technology exists to make a material than can float, yet withstand significant impact forces and damage.
If it's just a small recorder in a fibreglass or carbon fibre shell filled with foam, it's just not going to survive and will ultimately be useless.