Quote:
Originally Posted by stadry
...been reported copter lacked cockpit voice recorder, black box, or collision warning system,,, odd considering basic $ + operating $
only know what's been reported
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Cockpit voice recorder is important when there are two pilots who are discussing their actions and what goes into their decision making. This flight was a single pilot, don't see how anything would be picked up. Especially since aboard a helicopter most communications are done by intercom because of the noise.
Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) helps pilot avoid mid-air collisions with other aircraft by receiving other aircraft transponder information in close proximity. It's not for avoiding the ground.
Black Box would be important if there was mechanical failure as the cause, which it doesn't appear to be. The one item that might of helped would of been a Terrain Warning Sytem. By using GPS it can plot an aircraft location and then also bounces a radar signal off the ground and can tell if an aircraft is on a potential course to hit the ground by giving a 10 second warning, cost would of been about $40,000.