Rules to require lightweight cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) on light commercial aircraft (19 passenger seats or less) certified in Europe is one of several proposed amendments planned in the near future by EASA. The CVR mandate, one of several regulatory changes discussed in EASA Opinion 02/2019, would address at least a dozen recommendations submitted to EASA over the last several years and meet recently adopted ICAO standards.
Other proposed rule changes will remove the current mass threshold for non-ETOPS operations, the type design requirement for the 120- to 180-minute non-ETOPS operations with jets, and increase the mass limit requiring a reinforced cockpit door for certain airplane categories. It also includes requiring an alternate power supply of the CVRs and associated cockpit-mounted area microphones, and introduces standards for runway surface condition reporting and landing performance at the time of arrival, as well as incorporating a reduced required landing distance for airline operations.
According to EASA, the amendments are expected to “ensure alignment with ICAO with regard to in-flight recording; maintain the current level of safety for non-ETOPS operations, while allowing Europe to achieve harmonization with other regulatory systems; increase the current level of safety in relation to airplane performance; and ensure alignment with ICAO and better harmonization with the FAA.” No timetable was given when these amendments would actually be proposed.