Is the single engine Piper Malibu required to have a black box?
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4Required by who, the operator, the FAA, the EASA? – Jimy Jan 24 '19 at 14:34
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1Jimy, I am not sure. I have been following the story of Argentine soccer player Emiliano Alva who was traveling in a Piper Malibu on Monday, and the plane has not been located. The FDR and CVR have never been mentioned, so I just was curious as to why. Thank you for your comment. – cmcinteer Jan 24 '19 at 15:27
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The short answer is that it probably does not require a "black box".
What you refer to as a "black box" is actually 2 things (and Orange!) a Flight Data Recorder and a Cockpit Voice Recorder. The rules on when they are required is broadly similar, however the data required to be captured by the FDR varies.
For the CVR:
Fixed-wing aeroplanes with a maximum take-off mass of more than 5 700 kg and for which the certificate of airworthiness is first issued after 1 January 2003 shall be equipped with a CVR with a recording duration of two hours
For the FDR:
[...] depending on the maximum certificated take-off mass and the date of first issue of the individual certificate of airworthiness. For example, provision 6.3.6 of Annex 6, Vol. I states that, all aeroplanes of a maximum certificated take-off mass of over 5,700 kg for which the individual certificate of airworthiness is first issued after 1 January 2005 shall be equipped with a Type IA FDR
The Piper PA-46 (aka Piper Malibu) has a MTOW ranging from 4,340lb(1,969kg) to 6,000lb(2,721kg).
Speculation about the recent incident, and the specific model intentionally left out!
Jamiec
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15800kg? How did that number become so golden? I'm just curious as these things sometimes have an interesting backstory. – Dannie Jan 25 '19 at 00:19
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3@Dannie 5700kg is (more or less) 12,500lbs, which is the FAA's regulatory definition of a "large aircraft" and also means that a type rating is required. See this question. – Pondlife Jan 25 '19 at 02:24