As a result of the speculative theories regarding the disappearance of Malaysia Flight 370, the subject of cameras and streaming data from the cockpit has been re-energized. But why? And for what purpose? The obvious answer is to monitor cockpit activities in the event a situation arises. But what kind of situation? A terrorist event? Pilot suicide? An in-flight emergency?
First, let’s address the subject of cameras. In this day and age of CCTV (closed-circuit television), it seems that almost every aspect of our daily activities has the opportunity to be captured on video. Most of us seem to accept this invasion of privacy as a necessary evil. Most of us have nothing to hide … except for perhaps an accelerated car ride through a red light. And in that circumstance, law enforcement would consider the traffic light camera a deterrent to speeding.
