FAA Safety Alert Recommends Aircraft Operators Save CVR Recordings | Aviation International News

FAA SAFO Recommends Operators Save CVR Recordings

Concern is that valuable safety data is not being saved after an incident

Alaska Airlines hole in 737 Max 9 — After the Alaska Airlines cabin door failure accident, CVR data wasn’t saved. © NTSB

By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

July 13, 2026

An FAA Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) recommends that outfits flying aircraft equipped with cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) help prevent loss of valuable safety data by preserving recordings as soon as possible after a reportable event.

The FAA cited the Jan. 5, 2024 in-flight loss of a cabin emergency door plug by an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max as the accident that precipitated the SAFO. Other incidents have occurred, such as runway incursions at airports where aircraft continued flying, overwriting CVR data.

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