Airbus choose data streaming to replace black boxes
UK Guardian:
European plane maker Airbus is to install technology built by British firm Inmarsat that will render the black box virtually obsolete and could prevent air disasters.
Inmarsat, the satellite company that helped Malaysia Airlines pinpoint the likely flight path of the downed MH370 airliner, said the technology was a “gamechanger” for airline safety.
It beams flight information via a satellite to an airline’s control centre within seconds, capturing real-time data about what is happening onboard the plane.
This is particularly important if an aeroplane crashes into the sea, because signals sent by a flight recorder, or black box, typically stop within weeks as its batteries run down.
This leaves investigators unable to access crucial data about the cause of an accident, as in the case of MH370, whose black box has yet to be found.
Inmarsat said the new technology – called SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) and dubbed the “black box in the cloud” – could prevent a crash by speeding up communication between the cockpit and the ground in the event of a mechanical problem or terrorist incident.
Airbus will fit SB-S technology in A320 single-aisle planes and A330 wide-body aircraft from 2018 if it gets regulatory approval....
https://www.theguardian.com/business...on-airbus-jets