(a) No holder of an air carrier operating certificate or an operating
certificate may conduct any operation under this part with an aircraft
listed in the holder's operations specifications or current list of
aircraft used in air transportation unless that aircraft complies with any
applicable flight recorder and cockpit voice recorder requirements of the
part under which its certificate is issued except that the operator may --
(1) Ferry an aircraft with an inoperative flight recorder or cockpit
voice recorder from a place where repair or replacement cannot be made to
a place where they can be made;
(2) Continue a flight as originally planned, if the flight recorder or
cockpit voice recorder becomes inoperative after the aircraft has taken
off;
(3) Conduct an airworthiness flight test during which the flight
recorder or cockpit voice recorder is turned off to test it or to test any
communications or electrical equipment installed in the aircraft; or
(4) Ferry a newly acquired aircraft from the place where possession of
it is taken to a place where the flight recorder or cockpit voice recorder
is to be installed.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraphs (c) and (e) of this section, an operator
other than the holder of an air carrier or a commercial operator
certificate may --
(1) Ferry an aircraft with an inoperative flight recorder or cockpit
voice recorder from a place where repair or replacement cannot be made to
a place where they can be made;
(2) Continue a flight as originally planned if the flight recorder or
cockpit voice recorder becomes inoperative after the aircraft has taken
off;
(3) Conduct an airworthiness flight test during which the flight
recorder or cockpit voice recorder is turned off to test it or to test any
communications or electrical equipment installed in the aircraft;
(4) Ferry a newly acquired aircraft from a place where possession of it
was taken to a place where the flight recorder or cockpit voice recorder
is to be installed; or
(5) Operate an aircraft:
(i) For not more than 15 days while the flight recorder and/or cockpit
voice recorder is inoperative and/or removed for repair provided that the
aircraft maintenance records contain an entry that indicates the date of
failure, and a placard is located in view of the pilot to show that the
flight recorder or cockpit voice recorder is inoperative.
(ii) For not more than an additional 15 days, provided that the
requirements in paragraph (b)(5)(i) are met and that a certificated pilot,
or a certificated person authorized to return an aircraft to service under
§43.7 of this chapter, certifies in the aircraft maintenance records that
additional time is required to complete repairs or obtain a replacement
unit.
(c) No person may operate a U.S. civil registered, multiengine,
turbine-powered airplane or rotorcraft having a passenger seating
configuration, excluding any pilot seats of 10 or more that has been
manufactured after October 11, 1991, unless it is equipped with one or
more approved flight recorders that utilize a digital method of recording
and storing data and a method of readily retrieving that data from the
storage medium, that are capable of recording the data specified in
appendix E to this part, for an airplane, or appendix F to this part, for
a rotorcraft, of this part within the range, accuracy, and recording
interval specified, and that are capable of retaining no less than 8 hours
of aircraft operation.
(d) Whenever a flight recorder, required by this section, is installed,
it must be operated continuously from the instant the airplane begins the
takeoff roll or the rotorcraft begins lift-off until the airplane has
completed the landing roll or the rotorcraft has landed at its
destination.
(e) Unless otherwise authorized by the Administrator, after October 11,
1991, no person may operate a U.S. civil registered multiengine,
turbine-powered airplane or rotorcraft having a passenger seating
configuration of six passengers or more and for which two pilots are
required by type certification or operating rule unless it is equipped
with an approved cockpit voice recorder that:
(1) Is installed in compliance with §23.1457(a) (1) and (2), (b), (c),
(d), (e), (f), and (g); §25.1457(a) (1) and (2), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f),
and (g); §27.1457(a) (1) and (2), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g); or
§29.1457(a) (1) and (2), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) of this chapter,
as applicable; and
(2) Is operated continuously from the use of the checklist before the
flight to completion of the final checklist at the end of the flight.
(f) In complying with this section, an approved cockpit voice recorder
having an erasure feature may be used, so that at any time during the
operation of the recorder, information recorded more than 15 minutes
earlier may be erased or otherwise obliterated.
(g) In the event of an accident or occurrence requiring immediate
notification to the National Transportation Safety Board under part 830 of
its regulations that results in the termination of the flight, any
operator who has installed approved flight recorders and approved cockpit
voice recorders shall keep the recorded information for at least 60 days
or, if requested by the Administrator or the Board, for a longer period.
Information obtained from the record is used to assist in determining the
cause of accidents or occurrences in connection with the investigation
under part 830. The Administrator does not use the cockpit voice recorder
record in any civil penalty or certificate action.