A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) safety recommendation report is requesting helicopter manufacturers to equip turbine-powered helicopters with crash-resistant systems to record data, audio, and images.
The NTSB said the action requested of Airbus Helicopters, Bell, Leonardo, MD Helicopters, Robinson and Sikorsky stems from
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) not implementing a series of NTSB recommendations made in 2013 and 2015.
The NTSB noted investigators found the lack of recorded data hindered their understanding of several crashes that could have serious flight safety implications, citing seven helicopter investigations between 2011 and 2017 in which the lack of access to recorded data impeded their ability to identify and address potential safety issues.
The NTSB also identified five accidents in which investigators had the benefit of recorded data that was critical to understanding the circumstances of the crashes.
“The more information we have, the better we can understand not only the circumstances of a crash but what can be done to prevent future accidents,” Dana Schulze, director of the NTSB Office of Aviation Safety, said. “We are asking that currently available recording technology be put to use in a way that will improve aviation safety. The data these recorders can provide to investigators are data that can prevent accidents by allowing us to address safety issues that might otherwise go unidentified.”