Possibility of processing parameters obtained from on-board flight data recorders for diagnostics and predicting reliable operation periods of important aircraft equipment

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the recording of flight data in order to provide objective information concerning routine and emergency in-flight situations. The data recorded can be used for assessing the air mission execution by the pilot and flight safety breaches, for specifying some damage to the equipment, and for preventing faulty equipment from being used in flights. Flight data recorders (FDRs) are commonly known as “black boxes”. This article presents issues related to flight data acquisition and preparing the data for later use, as well as their impact on flight safety. The systems recording and processing selected parameters not only enable ongoing diagnostics, but also make it possible to predict the period of further reliable operations and to analyse the causes that led to possible damage. In addition to improving economic indicators of the aircraft operation, flight safety is improved. Obviously, the article will only discuss certain ways of enhancing safety by applying the processing of data obtained from FDRs. Nevertheless, I believe it will offer an overall view of how important it is to collect, process and properly analyse such data for diagnostics, prediction and flight safety.