I have always been interested in reading the transcript from the CVR in incidents/accidents that are published after the NTSB is finished with its investigation. In the DL 1086 incident on 3/5/2015 at LGA, the pilots commented that dispatchers were "useless" and called one flight attendant a "dingbat". So that made me want to ask the following of airline pilots:
1) Does the CVR require any sort of activation by the cockpit crew in a pre-flight checklist or is it an automatic, constant recording that recycles when it gets to the time limit that it records?
2) Does its presence ever make you hesitate in saying something, especially during takeoff/landing periods?
3) While they appear invaluable to accident investigations, do you have any opinions on them? Do you find them an invasion of privacy or do you think they are a necessary tool to advance aviation safety? Any changes to them that you would recommend?
Thanks for your comments.

Power is automatic, at least on Boeing airplanes. They start when the airplane is powered. No switch to turn them on.

I'll let the pilots answer on your other two questions, although I can make so some educated answers to them.

CVR standard is to record four channels of audio for a period of two hours. There have been several accidents / incidents where the CVR for the critical period of flight was overwritten before the CVR stopped recording. (The original standard was 30 minutes of audio, but that was found to be insufficient.)

FDR/CVR now include batteries which can continue recording data if there is a loss of power. However, loss of data lines - such as SW-111 - stops recording. That flight was in a stable configuration when the FDR and CVR stopped recording. It continued to fly stable an approaching the airport for eleven minutes before suddenly losing flight stability and crashing into the ocean.

There have been several technology advances which make it possible to record more than two hours.

Also many aircraft now have QAR - Quick Access Recorders which basically duplicate the data on the FDR/ CVR but can be downloaded onto a laptop in a few minutes.

For the record, not only pilots are thinking about the voice recorder, but so are mechanics. The voice recorder is recording even when the airplane is powered up and on the ground. On occasion some airlines will pull the recorder data when they suspect something inappropriate or incorrect was done while the plane was on the ground and maintenance was in the flight deck or working on the plane.

At least on some aircraft the CVR's can be erased by the crew once the AC is on the ground. TWA Flight 841, a 727-100, in1979 did two barrel rolls and dropped from 35,000 to 5,000 feet in just over a minute. The plane suffered major structural damage. The FAA believed it was the Captain who caused it. The CVR appeared to have been erased except for 9 minutes. The FAA looked at that as an unacceptable move by the crew which reinforced their opinion. The pilots claimed they did not remember if they had erased the CVR.

I would not be surprised if this did not continue because during major accidents pilots have been heard talking freely so I believe that most of the time they are not worried because they can assure their own privacy.

ozark1 wrote:

Do you find them an invasion of privacy or do you think they are a necessary tool to advance aviation safety?

A voice recorder installed in pilots' cars or homes, recording them when off duty, would be an invasion of privacy. Pilots have a right to expect privacy in those settings. They do not, or should not, have the same expectation when on duty, in an airline cockpit, operating a commercial flight.

A CVR has never once entered in to my mind as to what I say on the flightdeck, period. Are things that people would consider as inappropriate said on flight deck? I would say yes, but again, it doesn't seem to be something people think of. If every statement you make you have to consider how it sounds on a CVR, you've got bigger issues...

Can the FAA pull the CVR recordings whenever they want or do they need a search warrant or subpoena?

This is one of those rare great topics that breeds really good responses and questions (i.e., (admittedly selfishly), things that I've never thought of and made me think).

From a human perspective, wouldn't we want the flight crew to be able to speak freely without any fear of what would be recorded? Wouldn't that fear in and of itself be a distraction?

I guess that's the question.

But surely most aviators agree that CVRs have been central to helping prevent future accidents. There have been plenty of great pilots out there who have gone down without a trace, and I imagine they would've wanted people to hear why, if only to save others.

We also shouldn't fixate on a pilot's comments that the dispatcher was an "idiot" or the flight attendant was a "dingbat" as the cause for the incident rather than an indicator of stress, possibly severe. I will surely admit to doing that with my coworkers, at least once on a weekly basis. Thankfully, nobody's life relies on my level of stress. If anything, I'd say in this era of management books a dime-a-dozen, somebody should write a book about how well the management goes down every day on thousands of flights. I'd say those instincts would be pretty instructive.

Veetwo wrote:

Can the FAA pull the CVR recordings whenever they want or do they need a search warrant or subpoena?

It's the property of the airline, so it's still subject to fourth amendment protections.

I work in an office, once I pick up the phone that is recorded.

Not sure that CVR is a lot different.

Clearly, it does not record what I say to colleagues, but my manager, (and others) are in the room.

bennett123 wrote:

I work in an office, once I pick up the phone that is recorded.

Not sure that CVR is a lot different.

Clearly, it does not record what I say to colleagues, but my manager, (and others) are in the room.

But is everything you say in the workplace recorded?

I have been in commercial aviation for 31 years and have never once thought about the CVR being on or off. Personally, I really don't care if I am recorded or not. With that said, I will admit I have never seen, at any airline I have been employed by, engage in a "witch hunt". But, I do know of those happening. If the union and the company have a good working relationship when it comes to flight safety then there is really nothing to worry about. I am, personally, against releasing the unedited transcripts as I have seen the contents taken out of context or even misused.

Thanks for the comments everyone. Really interesting.

On a 319/320/321, the CVR is powered for 5 minutes after aircraft power is applied. Then the CVR shuts off until engine start. There is a manual switch to keep the CVR powered to keep recording cockpit activity. So one of the first things after getting into the aircraft is to push the GND CTL button to keep the CVR running. And to recheck that CND CTL is still on after a electrical power source change, i.e. external power to APU power, etc.

The only time I really care about the CVR is if we do the whole pre-flight preparation, briefing, checklists, etc. and the CVR is NOT recording. (the CVR "GND CTL" switch is off) In that case we'll do all the preflight briefings and checklists again for the benefit of the CVR to make sure it's all on tape.

Otherwise, I don't really care what else is recorded. Some of the folks I fly with comment on the passengers favorably and unfavorably, and sometimes there is playful banter between the cabin and the flight deck. So good or bad it's all on the tape for review.

The safety board could also not release the parts of the CVR that aren't relevant to the accident...

91.609 The Administrator is the FAA. It's federally protected. And most pilot CBA's further restrict the use of recorded data.

"The Administrator does not use the cockpit voice recorder record in any civil penalty or certificate action."

CATIIIevery5yrs wrote:

91.609 The Administrator is the FAA. It's federally protected. And most pilot CBA's further restrict the use of recorded data.

"The Administrator does not use the cockpit voice recorder record in any civil penalty or certificate action."

And yet in virtually every accident, the CVR audio is leaked to the media. The understanding was that CVR info is to be used in accident/incident investigations ONLY, but it makes it way to TV somehow.

When was the last accident where the CVR audio was leaked to the press? I can't remember. Don't confuse the CVR audio with ATC communications, that can be acquired by the public through other means than just the CVR.

exunited wrote:

CATIIIevery5yrs wrote:

91.609 The Administrator is the FAA. It's federally protected. And most pilot CBA's further restrict the use of recorded data.

"The Administrator does not use the cockpit voice recorder record in any civil penalty or certificate action."

And yet in virtually every accident, the CVR audio is leaked to the media. The understanding was that CVR info is to be used in accident/incident investigations ONLY, but it makes it way to TV somehow.

I haven't seen any examples in decades where CVR audio was leaked to the press.

apfpilot wrote:

exunited wrote:

CATIIIevery5yrs wrote:

91.609 The Administrator is the FAA. It's federally protected. And most pilot CBA's further restrict the use of recorded data.

"The Administrator does not use the cockpit voice recorder record in any civil penalty or certificate action."

And yet in virtually every accident, the CVR audio is leaked to the media. The understanding was that CVR info is to be used in accident/incident investigations ONLY, but it makes it way to TV somehow.

I haven't seen any examples in decades where CVR audio was leaked to the press.

Turn on any of the many airplane accident shows (Smithsonian Channel etc) and they have actual CVR recordings (not ATC and not reenactments). Air Florida 90, Delta at DFW... etc etc all have actual CVR audio.

A handful of CVR recordings are out there in the all time history of wrecks of CVR equipped aircraft.

exunited wrote:

apfpilot wrote:

exunited wrote:

And yet in virtually every accident, the CVR audio is leaked to the media. The understanding was that CVR info is to be used in accident/incident investigations ONLY, but it makes it way to TV somehow.

I haven't seen any examples in decades where CVR audio was leaked to the press.

Turn on any of the many airplane accident shows (Smithsonian Channel etc) and they have actual CVR recordings (not ATC and not reenactments). Air Florida 90, Delta at DFW... etc etc all have actual CVR audio.

Yes, now think about how old those accidents are.

You are assuming that the official position on the release of CVR recordings has been constant forever...

I believe the ban on releasing the actual audio followed DL 1141 at DFW in 1988.

Additionally, how does a leaked CVR equate to punitive actions by the regulator on the crew, if surviving?

Fascinating topic!

Does the crew's conversation get recorded on the CVR if they remove their headset/microphone?

vhtje wrote:

Does the crew's conversation get recorded on the CVR if they remove their headset/microphone?

Yes. Cockpit ambient sound is one of the channels recorded by the CVR (there are usually several microphones positioned at various spots on the flight deck, depending on its size and layout). This channel picks up external sounds, audio warnings, crew chatter, various mechanical noises that can be heard up front and similar...

Polot wrote:

exunited wrote:

apfpilot wrote:

I haven't seen any examples in decades where CVR audio was leaked to the press.

Turn on any of the many airplane accident shows (Smithsonian Channel etc) and they have actual CVR recordings (not ATC and not reenactments). Air Florida 90, Delta at DFW... etc etc all have actual CVR audio.

Yes, now think about how old those accidents are.

You are assuming that the official position on the release of CVR recordings has been constant forever...

I believe the ban on releasing the actual audio followed DL 1141 at DFW in 1988.

You're right after Delta 1141 only the transcript is released to the public.

Clearly, my non phone conversation is not recorded.

However my boss is in the same office and can hear what is going on.

I doubt the chief pilot is on every flightdeck.

exunited wrote:

apfpilot wrote:

exunited wrote:

And yet in virtually every accident, the CVR audio is leaked to the media. The understanding was that CVR info is to be used in accident/incident investigations ONLY, but it makes it way to TV somehow.

I haven't seen any examples in decades where CVR audio was leaked to the press.

Turn on any of the many airplane accident shows (Smithsonian Channel etc) and they have actual CVR recordings (not ATC and not reenactments). Air Florida 90, Delta at DFW... etc etc all have actual CVR audio.

exactly decades

The reason ALPA agreed to the CVR in the first place was with the assurance that the audio would be used for accident and incident investigation only which was clearly not adhered to and which is why you will never see video cameras in the cockpit.