FAA Issues New Guidance to Prevent CVR Data Loss

Safety alert aims to ensure critical cockpit voice recorder audio is preserved for accident investigations.

Meg Godlewski

Wednesday, July 08, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET

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Meg Godlewski

Prompted by the loss of cockpit voice recorder (CVR) data from Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, the FAA is mandating new protections to ensure such information is preserved following accidents. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA has issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) advising airlines to immediately shut off power to Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVRs) after reportable events to prevent critical audio data from being overwritten.
This directive stems from the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 incident, where CVR data was lost due to overwriting, significantly impeding the NTSB's investigation into flight deck communications and events.
Airlines are instructed to include clear CVR shutoff procedures in their flight, maintenance, and dispatch manuals, and to assess these guidelines through their Safety Management Systems for effective implementation.

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The FAA is developing recommendations to protect information captured by the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of an aircraft that has been involved in an accident or reportable incident.

The agency has issued a Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) advising airline crews and maintenance teams to shut off power to the CVR to protect critical audio data after a reportable event. CVRs are designed with a finite amount of memory that is overwritten, unless the circuit breaker for the device is pulled.