The search for missing flight recorders, or “black boxes,” on a flight like Malaysia 370, which mysteriously disappeared and was never seen again, raises the question of why airlines do not transmit flight data remotely as cloud storage technology evolves.
Earlier this year, rescue divers had to search through the Potomac River’s ice-cold waters to retrieve the black boxes of an Army Black Hawk helicopter and a Bombardier CRJ700 after the two collided near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Why do aircraft still use onboard black boxes to record flight data if remote uploading and cloud storage technology have excelled?
Multiple factors, including the sheer magnitude of satellite bandwidth needed to transmit the amount of data aircraft record in real time, and the difficulty of ensuring a continuous connection on flights in remote areas, make it difficult to switch to cloud storage….