The NTSB recommended several changes in the Federal Aviation Administration requirements for flight recorders. In fact, magnetic tape cockpit recorders are no longer made and tape and parts for them are in short supply. The board wants the recording time quadrupled to two hours. One group not yet heard from is airline pilots, whose opposition to increasing the recording time is longstanding. The recorder is always on during flight, making private conversation impossible for hours at a time.
Pilots worry that a slip of the tongue can be cause for management reprisals.
After the Power Fails Switching to a solid-state recorder would also reduce the system's power requirements, thus allowing a backup power source. This would increase the odds of finding at least one useable recorder. Digital technology would also allow the recorders to preserve data transmissions between pilots and air traffic controllers when a new system called Controller Pilot Data Link is implemented in the future. The NTSB wants upgrades of airplane flight recorders to prevent black box failures like what happened on Swissair Flight 111. ABC News Internet Ventures.