Flight recorders

[wbarnhill]

Here's a question... if an instrument fails or produces erroneous data does the flight recorder accept that data or reject it? In other words, can a flight recorder recognize that an instrument is giving incorrect information or does it just record and let someone else figure it out when going over the data?

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Here's a question... if an instrument fails or produces erroneous data does the flight recorder accept that data or reject it? In other words, can a flight recorder recognize that an instrument is giving incorrect information or does it just record and let someone else figure it out when going over the data?

You are talking about yea olde "black box" kind of flight recorder? I would hope that it records the bad data - that is the sort of thing that would be very useful in determing probable cause.

I really have no clue as to what is actually done. But, considering that this is part of the internet, the fact that I am clueless means that I am required to respond and speculate.

 

[Bob Noel]

Here's a question... if an instrument fails or produces erroneous data does the flight recorder accept that data or reject it? In other words, can a flight recorder recognize that an instrument is giving incorrect information or does it just record and let someone else figure it out when going over the data?

Without looking at the specs for FDRs, I will emphatically state that
FDRs should never ever reject data. The function of the FDR is
to record data to aid in investigations. No data is worse than
errorneous data.

 

[wbarnhill]

Without looking at the specs for FDRs, I will emphatically state that
FDRs should never ever reject data. The function of the FDR is
to record data to aid in investigations. No data is worse that
errorneous data.

That's what I was thinking.