Overview

• A preliminary AAIB report raised doubts that one pilot may have shut off fuel switches seconds after takeoff, a detail driving renewed calls for cockpit video.
• IATA head Willie Walsh and other safety experts argue that video recorders could provide crucial context missing from cockpit voice and flight data recordings.
• Major pilots’ unions such as ALPA and APA insist existing voice and data recorders suffice and warn that cameras would invade privacy and risk misuse or disciplinary actions.
• Regulators have not mandated cockpit image recorders despite NTSB and ICAO recommendations since 2000.
• India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau will issue a final report within a year under international rules, leaving the cockpit video question unresolved until then.