Secure ground-based remote recording and archiving of aircraft "Black Box" data

Abstract

Aircraft accident investigation centers upon the analysis of all available information about the accident flight in the period leading up to the final catastrophe. Key among the sources of information is data captured and recorded in the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder, which are often referred to as the aircraft "black boxes". For some accidents, this flight data may be lost entirely or partially damaged and largely unusable. The aircraft flight data recorders are the only place where flight data is recorded. This single recording point is a vulnerability to the availability of flight data that can be addressed by creating another place where the data is stored. This thesis examines the feasibility of and discusses the technical framework necessary for a system that transmits flight data from an aircraft to a ground recording station. The focus will be upon the requirements for security and assurance of the information flow, so that the confidentiality, integrity, availability and authenticity of the data are ensured.