US Aviation Regulator Expands Cockpit Voice Recorder Retention Period
The US Federal Aviation Administration has finalized a rule requiring 25-hour cockpit voice recorders on new aircraft, starting from 2027. For newly produced passenger planes, this will be the standard baseline rather than an optional upgrade. The FAA aims to capture more timeline and context for investigations, reducing the number of cases where CVR audio is unavailable due to overwriting. However, pilot unions and labor groups have expressed concerns about privacy and misuse, while retrofitting older aircraft will be complicated and expensive.