559 

Federal Aviation Administration, DOT 

§ 27.1461 

flight data recorders under this part 
are met. 

[Amdt. 27–22, 53 FR 26144, July 11, 1988, as 
amended by Amdt. 27–43, 73 FR 12563, Mar. 7, 
2008; 74 FR 32800, July 9, 2009; Amdt. 27–45, 75 
FR 17045, Apr. 5, 2010] 

§ 27.1459

Flight data recorders. 

(a) Each flight recorder required by 

the operating rules of Subchapter G of 
this chapter must be installed so that: 

(1) It is supplied with airspeed, alti-

tude, and directional data obtained 
from sources that meet the accuracy 
requirements of §§ 27.1323, 27.1325, and 
27.1327 of this part, as applicable; 

(2) The vertical acceleration sensor is 

rigidly attached, and located longitu-
dinally within the approved center of 
gravity limits of the rotorcraft; 

(3)(i) It receives its electrical power 

from the bus that provides the max-
imum reliability for operation of the 
flight data recorder without jeopard-
izing service to essential or emergency 
loads. 

(ii) It remains powered for as long as 

possible without jeopardizing emer-
gency operation of the rotorcraft. 

(4) There is an aural or visual means 

for preflight checking of the recorder 
for proper recording of data in the stor-
age medium; 

(5) Except for recorders powered sole-

ly by the engine-driven electrical gen-
erator system, there is an automatic 
means to simultaneously stop a re-
corder that has a data erasure feature 
and prevent each erasure feature from 
functioning, within 10 minutes after 
any crash impact; and 

(6) Whether the cockpit voice re-

corder and digital flight data recorder 
are installed in separate boxes or in a 
combination unit, no single electrical 
failure external to the recorder may 
disable both the cockpit voice recorder 
and the digital flight data recorder. 

(b) Each nonejectable recorder con-

tainer must be located and mounted so 
as to minimize the probability of con-
tainer rupture resulting from crash im-
pact and subsequent damage to the 
record from fire. 

(c) A correlation must be established 

between the flight recorder readings of 
airspeed, altitude, and heading and the 
corresponding readings (taking into ac-
count correction factors) of the first pi-

lot’s instruments. This correlation 
must cover the airspeed range over 
which the aircraft is to be operated, 
the range of altitude to which the air-
craft is limited, and 360 degrees of 
heading. Correlation may be estab-
lished on the ground as appropriate. 

(d) Each recorder container must: 
(1) Be either bright orange or bright 

yellow; 

(2) Have a reflective tape affixed to 

its external surface to facilitate its lo-
cation under water; and 

(3) Have an underwater locating de-

vice, when required by the operating 
rules of this chapter, on or adjacent to 
the container which is secured in such 
a manner that they are not likely to be 
separated during crash impact. 

(e) When both a cockpit voice re-

corder and a flight data recorder are 
required by the operating rules, one 
combination unit may be installed, 
provided that all other requirements of 
this section and the requirements for 
cockpit voice recorders under this part 
are met. 

[Amdt. 27–22, 53 FR 26144, July 11, 1988, as 
amended by Amdt. 27–43, 73 FR 12564, Mar. 7, 
2008; 74 FR 32800, July 9, 2009; Amdt. 27–45, 75 
FR 17045, Apr. 5, 2010] 

§ 27.1461

Equipment containing high 

energy rotors. 

(a) Equipment containing high en-

ergy rotors must meet paragraph (b), 
(c), or (d) of this section. 

(b) High energy rotors contained in 

equipment must be able to withstand 
damage caused by malfunctions, vibra-
tion, abnormal speeds, and abnormal 
temperatures. In addition— 

(1) Auxiliary rotor cases must be able 

to contain damage caused by the fail-
ure of high energy rotor blades; and 

(2) Equipment control devices, sys-

tems, and instrumentation must rea-
sonably ensure that no operating limi-
tations affecting the integrity of high 
energy rotors will be exceeded in serv-
ice. 

(c) It must be shown by test that 

equipment containing high energy ro-
tors can contain any failure of a high 
energy rotor that occurs at the highest 
speed obtainable with the normal speed 
control devices inoperative. 

(d) Equipment containing high en-

ergy rotors must be located where 

VerDate Sep<11>2014 

09:06 Jun 28, 2024

Jkt 262046

PO 00000

Frm 00569

Fmt 8010

Sfmt 8010

Y:\SGML\262046.XXX

262046

jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with CFR