Better Thinking Aloft
At this writing, the cockpit voice recorder of the doomed EgyptAir flight is in Washington being analyzed. It must be an agonizing process, to listen to the final few minutes of men who grew to realize that they and their passengers were going to die. Obviously, the investigators will be searching for clues about why the jet dove 14-thousand feet in 30 seconds, then climbed briefly, then fell into the ocean.
I have a theory that’s probably not worth two cents. I base it on the sudden failure of the flight, and the discovery of one body. I believe that, for whatever reason, by accident or on purpose, somebody opened a door on the plane at 33-thousand feet. That the plane decompressed and started down; that the crew shut off the engines to reduce speed heading toward the ocean; and at some point in the descent, they tried to right the plane, but the g-forces were too great and tore the aircraft apart.
Perhaps the cockpit voice recorder will offer a better explanation.
But in the meantime, some thoughts about the FAA and crash investigations, based on the EgyptAir disaster, and prior air tragedies. I’m mainly focused on the black boxes. Those are the devices on airplanes designed to monitor the last electronic vital signs, and the final conversation in the cockpit, of an airplane just before it crashes. That part makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is (1) how often they are difficult to locate and/or retrieve, and (2) how often they are damaged or destroyed.
Surely someone can design a crash-proof container, with an indestructible signaling device, that automatically breaks free of the wreckage, and that floats to the surface in the event of a crash into water.
Also, why is it that there are two black boxes? Wouldn’t one, well-made unit be simpler?
Another point, why do these recording devices operate on the plane’s electrical system? If the electrical goes out, there’s no more recording, as what apparently happened on the Swissair flight that crashed into the North Atlantic a while back. The FAA is apparently looking into rechargeable, dependable batteries, but that seems like it should have been obvious from the start.
Also speaking of the obvious, the FAA should require that airline seats face backwards. They know that it’s much safer, but they lack the gumption to go up against passenger preferences.
And finally, speaking of airline safety, why in the world aren’t flight attendants allowed to dress in more practical clothing? I don’t mean this as a joke. I’m thinking of their shoes. If the plane crash-lands, we’d all be better off if the flight attendants wore secure shoes rather than heels.
It’s time that good sense prevailed aloft.
And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.
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