PILOT OBJECTIONS
US pilots’ unions such as the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Allied Pilots Association (APA) say the voice and data recorders already provide enough information to determine the cause of a crash and that the cameras would be an invasion of privacy and could be misused.
Calls for cockpit cameras are an understandable reaction to “the stress of not knowing what happened immediately after an accident”, said APA spokesperson Dennis Tajer, an American Airlines pilot.
“I can understand the initial reaction of the more information, the better”, but investigators already have enough data to adequately determine an accident’s cause, leaving no need for cameras, he said.
To make flying safer, current safety systems should be enhanced to record higher-quality data, rather than adding video cameras, an ALPA spokesperson said.
There are also concerns that the footage could be used by airlines for disciplinary actions or that the video could be leaked to the public after a crash, said John Cox, an aviation safety expert, retired airline pilot and former ALPA executive air safety chairman.
A pilot’s death being broadcast on “the 6 o’clock news is not something that the pilot’s family should ever have to go through”, he said.
If confidentiality can be assured around the world, “I can see an argument” for installing cameras, Cox said.
Cockpit voice recordings are typically kept confidential by investigators in favour of partial or full transcripts being released in final reports.
Despite that, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations said it was skeptical that confidentiality could ever be assured for cockpit videos.
“Given the high demand for sensational pictures, IFALPA has absolutely no doubt that the protection of (airborne image recorder) data, which can include identifiable images of flight crewmembers, would not be ensured either,” the organisation said in a statement.
Boeing declined to disclose whether customers are able to order cockpit video recorders, while Airbus did not reply to a request for comment.
