Dr M slams Boeing for no deployable recorders 
MalaysiaKini.com
Jan 1, 2015   

Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad today took a swipe at Boeing for not wanting to install deployable flight data and voice recorder system on commercial aircraft.

He says if the aircraft maker would have agreed to install the system in commercial flights like MH370 and AirAsia QZ8501, it would have made a difference in the search process.

"I cannot understand why Boeing is against it. Just imagine if this recorder and beacon is installed on the Air Asia Indonesia aircraft or MH370, we would not have to search the oceans for the planes,” Mahathir said in his blog today.

The AirAsia plane that crashed on Sunday was manufactured by Airbus, while the two MAS aircrafts involved in aviation disasters last year were made by Boeing.

The octogenarian was basing his allegations on an article title 'Searching for Answers' published on Flight International magazine on October 14, 2014.

He said the article reported Airbus was ready to go ahead with the deployable flight data and voice recorder system for commercial aircraft which Boeing disagreed with citing the technology is not appropriate or safe.

Ironically, the article states that Boeing has installed deployable recorders on at least three military aircraft fleets.

The system that was suggested by Airbus involves deploying one of the two sets of flight data and cockpit voice recorders in the event of a mid-air collision or impact with the ground. The deployed unit has a locator beacon, and is designed to float if the crash occurs in water.

'Explain remote control capability'

Mahathir also questioned Boeing for obtaining a US patent to allow the control of aircrafts using a remote control, which was reported in a FlightGlobal.com article on December 2006.

“Boeing had made no comment on its powerful capability and MH 370 has not been found till now.

“Boeing seems to be unwilling to make finding lost aircrafts easier and faster, possibly saving lives as well, why?” Mahathir quizzed.
 
The article stated that Boeing patented a system that once activated, removes all control from pilots to automatically return a commercial aircraft to a predetermined landing location to prevent terrorist hijacks.

The AirAsia QZ8501 aircraft went missing on Sunday with 162 people on board while heading from Surabaya to Singapore.

On Tuesday, the plane was confirmed as having crashed into the Java Sea.
 
Search and rescue operations to retrieve the bodies and the plane wreckage have been hampered by bad weather and heavy seas.
 
MH370 flight disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 and the plane is yet to be found, though it is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean.

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