The Civil Aircraft Airworthiness Data Recording Programme

The idea of operational flight data recording started with the continuous recording of just two parameters velocity V and normal acceleration. The value of information gained from these simple recorders encouraged improved recorders and their development is traced up to the high capacity digital recorders available today. The data recording program operated jointly by the CAA and the participating airlines has grown considerably over the 20 years of its existence. Its present organization and activities are described, and a number of examples of the analyses performed on the data are given to illustrate the wide range of areas in which the data is useful.