FAA to Require Airlines to Update Data Recorders

The Federal Aviation Administration announced plans Wednesday to require airlines to install more sophisticated flight data recorders on commercial passenger jets that would provide more information for investigators in the event of a crash.

The move, prompted by pressure from the National Transportation Safety Board, follows months of delay by the White House, whose Office of Management and Budget had held up the proposed regulations in the face of heavy opposition from the industry.

The tougher regulations, which would not become fully effective until five years after they are issued, would expand the types of data airlines would be required to record, both for newly manufactured aircraft and for those already in the airlines’ fleets.

Flight data recorders are one of two “black boxes,” along with cockpit voice recorders, that are packed in crash- and heat-resistant cases in the tail of all jetliners and most commuter planes. The information they provide is vital in determining the cause of a crash.