Honeywell unveils satellite-linked, in-flight devices intended to speed investigations. After the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic Ocean, it took two years for investigators to find the black boxes.
Honeywell International Inc. is introducing a new line of aircraft cockpit and flight-data recorders that offer more data-storage capacity and the ability, for the first time, to use satellites to retrieve accident information in real time.
Honeywell officials and other proponents of the new technology said the devices, commonly called black boxes, promise major benefits for future plane crash investigations.
Such options have been debated for years by aviation industry officials, and have been championed by many safety advocates and accident investigators. The aim is to ensure vital crash data can be gathered quickly, avoiding the uncertainties of lengthy and sometimes fruitless searches for conventional recorders.
Excerpt from WSJ