AirAsia crash makes case for ejectable black boxes

Toronto

A LONG-DELAYED proposal to outfit commercial airliners with ejectable "black box" recorders may have a better chance of being adopted following the AirAsia crash in the Java Sea, according to three sources at the UN global aviation body.

The idea, which would equip commercial flights with black boxes that detach from the plane and float in water rather than sink, has bounced around International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) committees for years and is back on the agenda at its High-Level Safety Conference in February, the first of its kind in five years.