As a result of its investigations into multiple business and commercial airplane accidents and incidents over the last two decades, the NTSB is recommending cockpit voice recorders (CVR) with a minimum of 25 hours of recording capability. The Safety Board asked the FAA to mandate the new CVRs on all newly manufactured aircraft, as well as a retrofit on current aircraft, for which a CVR is already required by Jan. 1, 2024.

“We recognize that the scope of these recommendations exceeds ICAO’s standard, which applies only to airplanes that weigh more than 60,000 pounds in commercial transport,” the Safety Board said. “But the risk of lost CVR data is equal in accidents and incidents involving airplanes with a maximum takeoff weight under 60,000 pounds, which include many regional airplane models.”

According to the Safety Board, recent safety investigations have been hampered because relevant portions of the recordings were overwritten. Cockpit voice recorders have a current FAA-required standard recording duration of two hours.

According to the Safety Board, “CVRs are among the most valuable tools used for accident investigation. Information such as flight crew verbalizations of intentions and coordination, as well as pilots’ awareness of the state of the aircraft and cockpit information, allows investigators to more comprehensively assess accident/incident factors.”