3 ms·

FDR records huge array of instruments, this data alone has solved countless crashes.

• acqq 13y ago
  I'm afraid there's still chance that we'll learn exactly when it crashed etc but not why all this happened if it was really the result of somebody doing something intentionally and everything important happened before the last two hours. The current estimates are already that the plane simply flew on autopilot during the last hours. It's possible that nobody spoke in the cockpit at that time.
  • brc 13y ago
    It's unlikely that no noise at all was recorded in the cockpit. Other issues have been discovered from non-voice recorded noises - like the 737 Rudder failure problem that was deduced from the noise of a pilot grunting as he tried to move the rudder.
  • Perdition 13y ago
    The FDR data will still tell them whether it flew (ie pilot commanded) into the water or crashed (ie ran out of fuel or suffered engine failure), whether it had been on autopilot, whether there was an earlier fire that knocked out communication and navigation etc. There are plenty of events where the CVR provided no useful information and the cause of the crash was determined by the FDR.