Quote:
Originally Posted by kiwiokie
There is much media focus on recovering the flight data recorder as though it will be the Rosetta Stone for this puzzle but it seems there is a good chance it will pose more questions than it answers since from what I understand it will only report the operating parameters of the engines, control surfaces, air speed, altitude etc but cannot report why the aircraft changed course, the intent of the pilot or even the identity of the person at the controls. According to Wikipedia the typical cockpit voice recorder loops every 2 hours so the crucial time when the aircraft diverted from its original course will likely be written over???
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Head416
I've been thinking about that. What is it going to show? A turn to the left, climb, level out, a turn to the south, then in the water after running out of fuel. Won't tell us who did it or why.
|
This is correct^^
Like all evidence in investigations, the information from the recorders will be used to
eliminate causes as much as to identify a cause. The recorders can confirm or eliminate mechanical or catastrophic reasons for the flight. If the data recorder shows only normal functions, that would leave only deliberate human intervention as the cause, as is already suspected. It could tell if the plane was hand flown or programmed through the auto pilot. The voice recorder may not have the sounds during the initial course change, but it may have any warnings and alarms that were in the cockpit in the final hours and, of course, any voices. That would aid in knowing if anyone was alive and at the controls, at the end.
In short, a much clearer picture can emerge from the data and it can reinforce a purely human cause, but unless there is a voice hinting at what was happening, the black boxes cannot tell us the motive of the person(s) involved.