Safety Recommendations

The NTSB issues safety recommendations to address specific safety concerns uncovered during investigations and to specify actions to help prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future. Safety recommendations are our most important product because they alert government, industry, and the public to the critical changes that are needed to prevent transportation accidents and crashes, reduce injuries, and save lives. We:

issue recommendations to the organizations best able to take corrective action, such as the US DOT and its modal administrations, the Coast Guard, other federal and state agencies, manufacturers, operators, labor unions, and industry and trade organizations.
issue safety recommendations at any point during the investigation of transportation accidents and in connection with safety studies.
monitor the progress of action to implement each recommendation until it is closed, which usually takes several years.

Find Our Recommendations

CAROL   (Case Analysis and Reporting Online) is our search tool for investigations and safety recommendations across all modes. CAROL includes all NTSB recommendations. See the Field Descriptions page for specific information about safety recommendations data fields.

Recommendation Spotlight

Each month, we shine the spotlight on a few recommendations that have been successfully implemented (closed acceptable action) and are helping to further safety. These recommendations span all modes of transportation and recommendation recipients. Visit the Recommendation Spotlight Archive to see previous safety wins.

We urge recommendation recipients to keep us informed of the progress on implementing recommendations. If you do, you may see your recommendation spotlighted here. Read more about responding to our safety recommendations.

FAA Adopts NTSB Recommendation to Extend Cockpit Voice Recorder Duration to 25 Hours

Investigators must understand flight crews’ actions before an incident to conduct thorough investigations and develop effective safety recommendations. Cockpit voice recorders (CVRs) capture real-time insight into crew decision-making, workload, coordination, and situational awareness, providing information often unavailable from other sources.

For years, this critical safety tool faced a significant limitation: most CVRs retained only the last 2 hours of audio. In many cases, the system overwrote important recordings before investigators accessed them, and that risk still affects much of today’s operating fleet.

In February 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a final rule requiring newly manufactured aircraft with a CVR to retain the last 25 hours of audio, in line with NTSB Safety Recommendation A-18-030. This change is significant for future aircraft, but it does not apply to the thousands of airplanes already in service, which will continue under the two-hour standard unless retrofitted.

Why It Matters

Under the previous two-hour standard, the system recorded CVR audio on a continuous loop. If more than two hours passed between an event and powering down the aircraft, the system could erase critical evidence.

This problem became acute when crews recognized incidents late, during extended ground operations, multiple flight legs, or when aircraft remained powered after landing. By the time investigators assessed the event, they sometimes found key cockpit audio no longer available.

The NTSB has repeatedly emphasized that CVRs are among the most valuable tools in accident investigation. They provide real-time insight into:

Crew coordination and communication
Interactions with air traffic control
Workload and fatigue indicators
Responses to system alerts and abnormal situations

More complete information leads to more accurate findings and stronger safety recommendations.

Between 2003 and 2018, the NTSB investigated several accidents where the system erased critical CVR data before investigators could access it. Even after NTSB issued Safety Recommendations A-18-030 and A-18-031 in 2018, overwritten cockpit audio continued to hinder investigations.

For example, in July 2017 at San Francisco International Airport, an Airbus A320 was cleared to land on a runway but instead aligned with a parallel taxiway occupied by four air carrier airplanes. The aircraft descended to approximately 100 feet before executing a go-around.

More recently, following a 2024 investigation at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, the NTSB reiterated the need for extended CVR recording duration in Safety Recommendation A-24-009, which superseded A-18-031. Investigators again cited the loss of relevant cockpit audio because limited recording capacity continues to constrain safety analysis in today’s fleet.

A Longstanding Safety Concern

In its 2018 report, Extended Duration Cockpit Voice Recorders, the NTSB urged the FAA to require installation of 25-hour CVRs on all newly manufactured airplanes that must have a CVR and all existing airplanes that must carry both a CVR and a flight data recorder (FDR).

Modern solid-state recording technology supports longer recording durations. International regulators, including the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), have already adopted similar standards.

The FAA’s final rule brings U.S. regulations closer to international requirements and ensures future investigations will have access to more comprehensive cockpit data.

What the Rule Does

The new rule increases the minimum recording duration for CVRs on newly manufactured aircraft from 2 hours to 25 hours.

This expanded recording window significantly reduces the risk of losing relevant cockpit audio before investigators can retrieve it, especially in cases of delayed reporting or extended aircraft operations after an event.

More complete cockpit audio leads to more accurate findings and stronger, data-driven safety recommendations.

Continuing the Work: Retrofit Still Needed

While adopting Safety Recommendation A-18-030 is meaningful progress, the rule applies only to newly manufactured aircraft. It does not require operators to retrofit existing aircraft with 25-hour CVRs.

As a result, most aircraft currently in operation will continue to use two-hour CVRs unless voluntarily upgraded. Previous FAA estimates indicated that expanding the requirement to certain in-service transport-category airplanes could affect about 13,500 aircraft.

Safety Recommendation A-24-009 urges the FAA to require retrofitting all existing airplanes that must carry both a CVR and a flight data recorder with a 25-hour capable CVR. This would extend the benefits of longer recording durations to the existing fleet, not just new aircraft.

Looking Ahead

Cockpit voice recorders have played a key role in advancing aviation safety for decades. Extending their recording duration ensures investigators have the information needed to identify safety issues, prevent future accidents, and strengthen public confidence in aviation.

The adoption of Safety Recommendation A-18-030 demonstrates the impact of evidence-based recommendations and ongoing advocacy for meaningful change. As aviation operations evolve, preserving critical investigative data is essential to preventing future accidents, not just understanding past ones.