The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is citing the 2016 in-flight breakup of an experimental research and development Bell 525 in its call for the use of recording devices “for parametric data, cockpit audio and cockpit images” during experimental test flights.
The NTSB issued two safety recommendations last week. One recommendation called on the Flight Test Safety Committee, a nonprofit organization formed in the 1990s to encourage flight safety and reduce risks, to develop and issue guidance for the use of recording devices.
A second recommendation, to Bell Helicopter Textron, said the company should “provide information about the lessons learned from the July 6, 2016, accident specific to the benefits of recording devices … during experimental flight test activities to interested manufacturers, flight test industry groups and other appropriate parties.”
The accident occurred during developmental flight tests in advance of type certification. The cr…
