FDR/CVR operation following damage to tail
Hello all,
I have a somewhat out of the ordinary question, put simply, how sensitive are recorders to damage in the tail area? There have been several cases where damage has occurred in the tail area which has stopped recorders from recording, even though the damage wouldn't seem to have affected the reorders
here are the examples:
AA 587 (A300), FDR stops recording seconds (2-3 sec) after vertical stabiliser separates. Why would such damage affect the FDR?
DHL 611 (757), FDR and CVR stop recording shortly (8-9sec) after a large portion of the vertical stabiliser is torn off. Same as above, how would that affect the recorders?
EK 407 (A340), FDR stops recording following a tail strike on takeoff after sliding out of its mount. Strange and unusual that a tail strike can dislodge a recorder.
It seems that under some circumstances the recorders can be quite sensitive to stopping when damage occurs near them, I'm also wondering why the recorders can seemingly randomly stop recording several seconds after the damage has occurred? For example The DHL report states that the CVR recorded for 9 sec and the FDR recorded for a further 8 sec following the damage (with the last 7 sec of the FDR tape being damaged).
Regards,
Stabilator