Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek today suggested the harnessing of technological advances in communications in speeding up the search for lost flights instead of depending on what he said was the outdated black box.

He said the rapid development of communication technology enabled the use of the mobile telephone on flights to make calls or send text messages.

“When a flight goes missing, we look for the black box which only contains the last two hours of conversation in the cockpit.

“This is from the era of the tape recorder; technology of the 60s. Current technology enables us to send and receive data with the mobile telephone by using satellites. Why can’t we make use of this technology in aviation?” he said.

Ahmad Shabery spoke to reporters after opening the Expert Dialogue on Real-Time Monitoring of Flight Data, including the Black Box in Kuala Lumpur.

Also present at the event were Department of Civil Aviation directir-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman; Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) chairperson Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi; Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) director Malcolm Johnson and Air Navigation Bureau of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) director Nancy Graham.

Ahmad Shabery said he hoped that the dialogue would seek ways to develop the data from the mobile telephone into technology that could detect aircraft when an incident such as a missing flight occurred.

“We may find various methods to harness this communications data and, if agreed to by countries, Malaysia can pioneer a new era in the history of aviation related to the search for aircraft,” he said.

The minister said it was hoped that the advances in telecommunications data could avert incidents such as the disappearance of the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370, on March 8.

“We are still looking for the aircraft, so as to give solace to the families of the passengers. Let us (Malaysia) be the last to shoulder such a burden and not any other country in the future,” he said.

Earlier, in his speech, Ahmad Shabery said the effort to implement real-time data monitoring was a ‘teamwork’, involving all parties in the aviation industry.

If real-time tracking were to be implemented, it was important for issues such as cost and bandwidth as well as confidentiality and privacy to be addressed, he said.

‘Peace of mind offered by real-time tracking’

“Although there are concerns relating to confidentiality and ensuring appropriate use of data sent from the aircraft, from a consumer or passenger perspective, these concerns cannot match the peace of mind offered by real-time tracking,” he said.   

He also expressed his gratitude to the more than 26 countries for their commitment in helping Malaysia in the search for the missing Flight MH370.

More than 50 aviation, communications and law experts are taking part in the two-day closed-door dialogue which began today.

- Bernama