The Eye In The Sky compact cockpit video and audio recorder has received Approved Model List Supplemental Type Certificate (AML STC) approval in New Zealand. This STC covers multiple helicopter types, including the Airbus EC130 and AS350 and Robinson R44. Further aircraft types will be added this year, according to New Zealand-based Eye In the Sky.
Priced at $5,500, the all-in-one device includes a forward-facing HD camera that records a 160-degree HD image of pilot control inputs, the view out the front window, and flight data from the instrument cluster. Three audio channels capture pilot, radio, passenger, and ambient cockpit audio. Data is stored on an SD card within a tamper-proof housing that captures 22 hours of aircraft video, audio, and flight data. Accompanying software facilitates playback and review.
Eye In The Sky was developed by New Zealand-based air tour operator Louisa Patterson following the 2015 crash of an R44 that killed her son and the pilot. Investigators were unable to determine why the helicopter suffered an in-flight breakup but noted that a cause might have been possible had the helicopter been equipped with a cockpit video recorder. Patterson said the device “will raise the overall aviation safety bar, close occurrences, answer intermittent engineering faults, improve training, and provide answers in the event of an accident.”