Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === <span id="Air transport authorities">Air transport industry</span> === The fact that a modern aircraft could disappear in a digitally connected world was met with surprise and disbelief by the public. While changes in the aviation industry often take years to be implemented, airlines and air transport authorities responded swiftly to take action on several measures to reduce the likelihood of a similar incident.<ref>{{cite news|title=How do you track a plane?|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-26544554|access-date=25 November 2014|publisher=BBC News|date=17 March 2014|archive-date=11 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111071229/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-26544554|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Pasztor|first=Andy|title=After MH370, Air-Tracking Plan Unveiled|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303851804579560962991371096|access-date=3 December 2014|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=14 May 2014|archive-date=13 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313024120/https://segment-data.zqtk.net/dowjones-d8s23j?url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303851804579560962991371096.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="WSJ air transport industry response">{{cite news|last1=Pasztor|first1=Andy|title=How to Avoid Another Malaysia Flight 370|url=https://online.wsj.com/articles/how-to-avoid-another-malaysia-flight-370-1405100436|access-date=3 December 2014|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=13 July 2014|archive-date=10 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010095755/http://online.wsj.com/articles/how-to-avoid-another-malaysia-flight-370-1405100436|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Rolphe|first=Martin|title=The future of aircraft surveillance and tracking|url=http://nats.aero/blog/2014/09/future-aircraft-surveillance-tracking/|work=[[NATS Holdings|NATS]]|date=17 September 2014|access-date=12 April 2015|archive-date=7 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607190920/http://nats.aero/blog/2014/09/future-aircraft-surveillance-tracking/|url-status=live}}</ref> <!-- Add short paragraph about failure to take action when similar proposals were made in the wake of AF447... Flight 370's disappearance came nearly five years after the loss of Air France Flight 447 and the two incidents have been; the first recommendation to the ICAO was to: "extend as rapidly as possible to 90 days the regulatory transmission time for [underwater locator beacons] installed on flight recorders".<ref>{{cite web|title=Final Report: Flight AF 447 on 1st June 2009 A330-203, registered F-GZCP|url=http://www.bea.aero/docspa/2009/f-cp090601.en/pdf/f-cp090601.en.pdf|website=bea.aero|publisher=Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile|access-date=3 December 2014|format=PDF|date=27 July 2012}}</ref> {{Rp|203}} --> ==== <span id="Real-time tracking">Aircraft tracking</span> ==== {{See also<!-- The link is just one issue, not a broad issue, so "see also" is the appropriate template, not "further". -->|Future Air Navigation System#Surveillance improvements}} The [[International Air Transport Association]] (IATA)—an industry trade organisation representing more than 240 airlines (accounting for 84% of global air traffic)—and the ICAO began working on implementing new measures to track aircraft in flight in real time.<ref name="IATA tracking press release"/> The IATA created a task force (which included several outside stakeholders)<ref name="IATA tracking press release"/> to define a minimal set of requirements that any tracking system must meet, allowing airlines to decide the best solution to track their aircraft. The IATA's task force planned to come up with several short-, medium-, and long-term solutions to ensure that information is provided in a timely manner to support search, rescue, and recovery activities in the wake of an aircraft accident.<ref name="DW tracking">{{cite web|last=Domínguez|first=Gabriel|title=What has the aviation industry learned from Flight MH370?|url=http://www.dw.de/what-has-the-aviation-industry-learned-from-flight-mh370/a-17871162|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]|access-date=19 October 2014|date=22 August 2014|archive-date=19 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019114757/http://www.dw.de/what-has-the-aviation-industry-learned-from-flight-mh370/a-17871162|url-status=live}}</ref> The task force was expected to provide a report to the ICAO on 30 September 2014, but announced on that date that the report would be delayed, citing the need for further clarification on some issues.<ref name="FlightTracking">{{cite news|title=IATA wants new airline tracking equipment|url=http://www.malaysiasun.com/index.php/sid/222727817/scat/5e8a9e9456185a7e/ht/IATA-wants-new-airline-tracking-equipment|access-date=10 June 2014|newspaper=Malaysia Sun|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714223314/http://www.malaysiasun.com/index.php/sid/222727817/scat/5e8a9e9456185a7e/ht/IATA-wants-new-airline-tracking-equipment|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Martell|first=Allison|title=Task force delays aircraft tracking plans promised after MH370 mystery|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-airlines-safety-tracking-idUKKCN0HP2C420140930|access-date=8 October 2014|publisher=Reuters|location=Toronto|date=30 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012225150/https://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/30/uk-airlines-safety-tracking-idUKKCN0HP2C420140930 |archive-date=12 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2014, the IATA task force recommended that, within 12 months, airlines track commercial aircraft in no longer than 15-minute intervals. The IATA itself did not support the deadline, which it believed could not be met by all airlines, but the proposed standard had the support of the ICAO. Although the ICAO can set standards, it has no legal authority, and such standards must be adopted by member states.<ref name="air tracking ICAO standards">{{cite news|title=UN Aviation Body to Propose 15-minute Flight Tracking Standard|url=https://www.voanews.com/content/reu-un-aviation-body-to-propose-15-minute-flight-tracking-standard/2588127.html|access-date=24 January 2015|website=VOA News|agency=Reuters|date=6 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109192322/https://www.voanews.com/content/reu-un-aviation-body-to-propose-15-minute-flight-tracking-standard/2588127.html |archive-date=9 January 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="PM ICAO tracking standards">{{cite web|last=Peterson|first=Barbara|title=Here's Why Airliners Still Don't Have Real-Time Tracking Tech|url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/safety/mh370-missing-jets-tracking-technology-17521859|website=Popular Mechanics|access-date=24 January 2015|date=12 December 2014|archive-date=13 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240313023931/https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/a13340/mh370-missing-jets-tracking-technology-17521859/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, the ICAO adopted a standard that, by November 2018, all aircraft over open ocean report their position every 15 minutes.<ref name="phys.org: ICAO 2016 amendments"/> In March, the ICAO approved an amendment to the Chicago Convention requiring new aircraft manufactured after 1 January 2021 to have autonomous tracking devices which could send location information at least once per minute in distress circumstances.<ref name="phys.org: ICAO 2016 amendments">{{cite news|last=Lowy|first=Joan|title=Airlines slow to adopt safety technologies after MH370|url=http://phys.org/news/2016-03-airlines-safety-technologies-mh370.html|access-date=21 April 2016|work=phys.org|agency=Associated Press|publisher=Science X Network|date=4 March 2016|archive-date=7 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407042639/http://phys.org/news/2016-03-airlines-safety-technologies-mh370.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ASN: ICAO 2016 amendments">{{cite web|title=ICAO updates Annex 6 with requirements to help avoid recurrence of MH370-type disappearances|url=http://news.aviation-safety.net/2016/03/07/icao-updates-annex-6-with-requirements-to-help-avoid-recurrence-of-mh370-type-disappearances/|website=Aviation Safety Network|access-date=21 April 2016|date=7 March 2016|archive-date=30 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430102540/http://news.aviation-safety.net/2016/03/07/icao-updates-annex-6-with-requirements-to-help-avoid-recurrence-of-mh370-type-disappearances/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In May 2014, [[Inmarsat]] said that it would offer its tracking service for free to all aircraft equipped with an Inmarsat satellite connection (which includes the vast majority of commercial airliners).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10824544/Inmarsat-offers-to-track-aircraft-for-free-after-Malaysia-Airlines-disaster.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10824544/Inmarsat-offers-to-track-aircraft-for-free-after-Malaysia-Airlines-disaster.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Inmarsat offers to track aircraft for free after Malaysia Airlines disaster |date=12 May 2014|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=4 April 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Inmarsat also changed the time period for handshakes with its terminals from one hour to 15 minutes.<ref name=JN-Inmarsat>{{cite journal|last1=Ashton|first1=Chris|last2=Bruce|first2=Alan Shuster|last3=Colledge|first3=Gary|last4=Dickinson|first4=Mark|title=The Search for MH370|journal=The Journal of Navigation|volume=68|pages=1–22|date=14 September 2014|doi=10.1017/S037346331400068X|doi-access=free}}</ref>{{Rp|2}} ==== Transponders ==== There was a call for automated [[Transponder (aeronautics)|transponders]] after the [[September 11 attacks|terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001]]; no changes were made because aviation experts preferred flexible control, in case of malfunctions or electrical emergencies.<ref name="cbsnews"/> In the aftermath of Flight 370's disappearance, the air transport industry was still resistant to the installation of automated transponders, which would likely entail significant costs. Pilots also criticised changes of this kind, insisting on the need to cut power to equipment in the event of a fire. Nonetheless, new types of tamper-proof [[circuit breaker]]s were being considered.<ref name="WSJ air transport industry response" /> ==== Flight recorders ==== {{further|Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370#Underwater locator beacons}} [[File:Towed pinger locator.svg|thumb|right|Detection of the acoustic signal from the ULBs must be made below the [[thermocline]] and within a maximum range, under nominal conditions, of {{convert|2000-3000|m|abbr=on}}. With a ULB battery life of 30–40 days, searching for the important flight recorders is very difficult without precise coordinates of the location at which the aircraft entered the water.|alt=Diagram of location of ship, thermocline, towed pinger locater at end of tow cable, and blackbox pinger.]] The intensive and urgent search for the flight recorders in early April 2014, due to the 30-day battery life of the [[underwater locator beacon]]s (ULBs) (or "pingers") attached to them, drew attention to their inherent limitations.{{efn|Regulations required ULBs to transmit a minimum of 30 days. The ULBs on the flight recorders on Flight 370 had a minimum 30-day battery life after immersion. The ULB manufacturer predicted the maximum battery life was 40 days after immersion.<ref name=ATSB />{{Rp|11}}}}<ref name="Rethink planes">{{cite web|last=Stupples|first=David|title=MH370 should make us rethink how we monitor planes|url=http://phys.org/news/2014-04-mh370-rethink-planes.html|website=Phys.org|access-date=20 January 2015|date=9 April 2014|archive-date=22 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122080644/http://phys.org/news/2014-04-mh370-rethink-planes.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The maximum distance from the ULBs at which the signal can be detected is normally {{convert|2000-3000|m|abbr=on}}, or {{convert|4500|m|ft|abbr=on}} under favourable conditions.<ref name=ATSB />{{Rp|11}} Even if the flight recorders are located, the cockpit voice recorder memory has the capacity to store only two hours of data, continuously recording over the oldest data. This storage capacity complies with regulations, which take account of the fact that it is usually only the data recordings from the last section of a flight that are needed to determine the cause of an accident. However, the events that led to Flight 370 diverting from its course, before disappearing, took place more than two hours before the flight ended<!-- mentioned earlier in the article...between 08:19 and 09:15, based on satellite communications -->.<ref name="BBC FR limitations">{{cite news|last=de Castella|first=Tom|title=Malaysia plane: Why black boxes can't always provide the answers|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26721975|access-date=22 January 2015|publisher=BBC News|date=25 March 2014|archive-date=22 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222042751/http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26721975|url-status=live}}</ref> Given these shortcomings, and the importance of the data stored on flight recorders, Flight 370 has brought to attention new technologies that enable [[Flight recorder#After Malaysia Airlines Flight 370|data streaming to the ground]].<ref name="SMH remote blackboxes">{{cite news|last=Allard|first=Tom|title=MH370: Expert demands better black box technology|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/mh370-expert-demands-better-black-box-technology-20140428-zr0vn.html|access-date=21 January 2015|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=28 April 2014|archive-date=3 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140703031312/http://www.smh.com.au/world/mh370-expert-demands-better-black-box-technology-20140428-zr0vn.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Phys.org blackbox streaming">{{cite web|last=Yu|first=Yijun|title=If we'd used the cloud, we might know where MH370 is now|url=http://phys.org/news/2014-03-cloud-mh370.html#nRlv|website=Phys.org|access-date=21 January 2015|date=19 March 2014|archive-date=22 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122071128/http://phys.org/news/2014-03-cloud-mh370.html#nRlv|url-status=live}}</ref> A call to increase the battery life of ULBs was made following the unsuccessful initial search in 2009 for the flight recorders on [[Air France Flight 447]], which were not located until 2011. A formal recommendation that the ULB design be upgraded to offer a longer battery life, or to make the recorders ejectable, had been included in the final report of the board of inquiry into the loss of [[South African Airways Flight 295]] over the Indian Ocean in 1987, but it was not until 2014 that the [[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]] made such a recommendation, with implementation required by 2018.<ref name="SMH remote blackboxes" /> The [[European Aviation Safety Agency]] (EASA) issued new regulations that require the transmitting time of ULBs fitted to aircraft flight recorders to be increased from 30 to 90 days, to be implemented by 1 January 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/news/easa-certifies-first-long-range-underwater-locator-device-designed-and|title=EASA certifies first Long Range Underwater Locator Device designed and manufactured in Europe|date=4 April 2017|publisher=European Aviation Safety Agency|access-date=9 February 2019|archive-date=9 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209232241/https://www.easa.europa.eu/newsroom-and-events/news/easa-certifies-first-long-range-underwater-locator-device-designed-and|url-status=live}}</ref> The agency has also proposed that a new underwater locator beacon with a greater range of transmission should be fitted to aircraft that fly over oceans.<ref name="DW tracking" /> In June 2015, Dukane, a manufacturer of underwater locator beacons, began selling beacons with a 90-day battery life.<ref name="HEICO press release"/> In March 2016, the ICAO adopted several amendments to the [[Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation|Chicago Convention]] in order to address issues raised by the disappearance of Flight 370. These affected aircraft manufactured after 2020, requiring cockpit voice recorders to record at least 25 hours of data, to ensure that all phases of a flight are recorded.<ref name="phys.org: ICAO 2016 amendments"/><ref name="ASN: ICAO 2016 amendments"/> Aircraft designs approved after 2020 must incorporate a means of recovering the flight recorders, or the information contained on them, before the recorders sink below the water. This provision is performance-based so that it can be accomplished by different techniques, such as streaming flight recorder data from a stricken aircraft, or using flight recorders that eject from the aircraft and float on the surface of the water.<ref name="ASN: ICAO 2016 amendments"/> The new regulations do not require modifications to be made to existing aircraft.<ref name="phys.org: ICAO 2016 amendments"/> ==== Safety recommendations ==== In January 2015, the U.S. [[National Transportation Safety Board]] cited Flight 370 and [[Air France Flight 447]] when it issued eight safety recommendations{{efn|A-15-1 to A-15-8}} related to locating aircraft wreckage in remote or underwater locations, and repeated recommendations for a crash-protected cockpit image recorder and tamper-resistant flight recorders and transponders.<ref name="NTSB safety recommendations letter">{{cite web|last=Huerta|first=Michael P.|title=Safety Recommendation: A – 15 – 1 through – 8|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A-15-001-008.pdf|website=NTSB|access-date=13 February 2015|date=22 January 2015|archive-date=13 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213230150/http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-recs/recletters/A-15-001-008.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NTSB safety recommendations press release"/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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