Knox Times

WASHINGTON, D.C.,– On May 24, U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett (TN-02) and U.S. Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) introduced the Safe Aviation Flight Enhancement (SAFE) Act to enable crashed airplanes’ “black box” data to be recovered more quickly. 

This bill would require new aircraft to be outfitted with: 

• A second flight data and cockpit voice recorder system that enables data recovery without underwater search missions, such as a black box that floats on water or transmits flight data 
• A method to broadcast the aircraft’s location within 6 nautical miles 
• An underwater locator device that functions for at least 90 days

It would also extend the cockpit voice recorder recording time from two hours to 25 hours.  

"When a plane goes down, it's important we understand exactly how it happened as soon as possible. It's unacceptable that sometimes it takes days, weeks, or even years to recover the black box that can help us find answers. I'm proud to support this measure to speed up that process which could improve aircraft safety and even save lives." Said Rep. Burchett.

“The SAFE Act presents a commonsense solution for assuring that aircraft crashes can be located quickly and that accurate causes of crashes can be swiftly identified by investigators. It will save substantial time and expense in recovering black boxes and will potentially save lives. I appreciate my colleague Tim Burchett’s support for this measure and hope to see it move through our Subcommittee, the full committee, a floor vote and become law.”  Said Rep. Cohen. 

Rep. Burchett serves on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and on the Subcommittee on Aviation. The full text of the bill can be found here.  

Original source can be found here.