On Jan. 30 the Federal Aviation Administration finalized a regulation that will require cockpit voice recorders on new passenger airplanes to retain 25 hours of audio data, replacing the existing two-hour recording loop. The agency set 2027 as the compliance date for new passenger aircraft under the rule.
The National Transportation Safety Board has advocated for expanded cockpit audio retention since 2018, and the United States has lagged behind many other countries in this requirement for commercial airplanes. Cockpit voice recorders capture cockpit transmissions and ambient sounds, including pilots' voices and engine noises. These recordings can be crucial in piecing together the circumstances that lead to aviation accidents.
The FAA initially proposed the rule in 2023. Under the finalized regulation, the requirement takes effect immediately but includes staggered compliance windows that give some smaller aircraft between one and three years to meet the new standard.
In a related legislative step, Congress passed a law in 2024 that requires all passenger airplanes to be retrofitted with 25-hour voice recorders by 2030. That statute establishes a separate timeline focused on bringing the existing fleet into alignment with the new recording standard.
The shift from a two-hour loop to a 25-hour retention period significantly expands how much cockpit audio will be available to investigators and regulators. The rule represents a regulatory update that adjusts how cockpit sounds and transmissions are preserved and examined following incidents or accidents.
Key procedural milestones in this process include the FAA's 2023 proposal, the immediate effective date of the finalized rule, the one- to three-year compliance allowance for certain smaller aircraft, and the congressional retrofit deadline of 2030. Taken together, these measures establish requirements for both new deliveries and the existing in-service fleet.
Details about implementation logistics, costs, or specific technical installation requirements are not specified in the text of the finalized rule as presented here. Likewise, the article does not provide information about enforcement mechanisms, inspection schedules, or how the FAA will monitor compliance through the transition periods.
This regulatory change responds to long-standing calls from safety officials to extend audio retention and aims to align U.S. cockpit voice recording requirements more closely with practices in many other countries.
Summary: The FAA has finalized a rule requiring 25-hour cockpit voice recorders for new passenger airplanes starting in 2027, moving away from the current two-hour loop. The rule takes effect immediately, with limited phased compliance for smaller aircraft, and Congress separately mandated a full fleet retrofit to 25-hour recorders by 2030.