What history unites the BEA, ICAO, EUROCAE and iAero?
Philippe Plantin de Hugues, advisor to the Director of International Affairs and senior security investigator of the Bureau of Investigations and Analyses, explains.
“I worked for 20 years in the BEA laboratory, more precisely called the Recorders and Avionics Systems Pole of the Technical Department. I was first in charge of reading the cockpit voice recorders before heading the division, and at the same time I led international working groups to define the technical specifications of the flight recorders. This is how, in 2003, the specifications of the famous black boxes on commercial aircraft were improved. » says Philippe.
“It was in 2005 that François Vignon, president of iAero, asked me about the need to install a flight recorder on the smallest aircraft, below 5.7 tonnes. Too many accidents involving his pilot friends remained unanswered. » tells us Philippe. François wanted to develop a light, inexpensive recorder for massive installation on these small planes for the benefit of improving air safety.
And this is the beginning of this great collaboration between the BEA and iAero to bring to fruition the EUROCAE ED-155 technical specifications. Long-term collaboration also with the ICAO to define the conditions for installing these recorders and the types of machines concerned.
Objective of the working groups: installation of parameters and audio recorders that are light, easy to use and not too expensive.
The ICAO installation standard has been required since 2016 for commercial transport aircraft between 2,250 kg and 5,700 kg.
Many recommendations by investigative authorities were made before 2005 for this type of recorder, but nothing had been done. François Vignon with all his expertise was the trigger and then one of the essential operators in the development of technical standards and specifications.” concludes Philip.
It is easy to understand why with the APIBOX, iAero is today a major player in flight safety, both in airplanes and helicopters.
Many thanks to Philippe Plantin de Hugues and to the BEA for their trust!
