Marquel, TPVs NYTimes A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned Section correspondent, was begging for pennies in front of his own mirror to see if he looked pitiful enough, when he read Cost a Factor in Streaming Flight Data in Real Time. Another plane crash has many in aviation asking whether commercial flights should be required to transmit live data in real time. The pilots union opposes videos of the cockpit as an “invasion of privacy.”
Marquel wondered what exactly was going on in there especially when there was just one person, as in the latest Germanwings crash. Something private, according to the union. Maybe planning his suicide? That might count as private, mused Marquel. The union also says that there’s plenty of info on the black box which seldom gets lost, but that’s what happened to the Germanwings flight. Maybe black boxes only get lost when there’s a crash. Does that mean they’re good or something bad? Wondered Marquel.
But if all that info was streamed in real time, an accident about to happen would be observable. It’s also possible that controllers on the ground could help fix any damage or even bring the plane in themselves. All sorts of possibilities, thought Marquel, feeling encouraged.
But speaking to the airlines association he was told it’s “too costly” to stream info. Hundreds of flights all day long. Tons of info.
Marquel asked them, “Why not use Google? They have those entire cities of just computer memory working 24/7. Couldn’t you use their designs, or even their facilities?”
“The cost would be staggering.” He was told.
“There’s little in it for us. This is, after all, a business. When we hike fees, we make more money. But a streaming fee would raise prices. People would complain, and we wouldn’t make a cent more. Probably less!” He emphasized.
“That’s easy. $100,000 apiece, and it’s all insured.”
“The accounting section. We have four hundred experts constantly assessing court awards, adjusting our figures, and multiplying by the likelihood of an accident, which this year is the lowest in history.” he said.
“It sounds awful but it’s true.” He said.
“No that would do it but I don’t think you can go to a court and say we want triple our damages to pay for streaming.” He said.
“Well, good luck,” he said.
“Yeah, sure, indirectly,” he said. “What you do is allege negligence not to have it, assert it caused the crash, and ask their expert why they didn’t do it. They’ll say it’s too expensive and you ask by how much. Then you weave it into the trial so the jury understands. And the judge too.”
“I spent a time working for Canadian intelligence. I can’t talk about it, but my cover was that of a young lawyer. I had to learn fast because I tried three cases.” Mufi said.
“Oh sure. They let you do anything if the cost justifies the price. Cost benefit, you know, just like your question.”
This is a real problem
What? The secrecy? Yes. The costs are bogus
Read Marquel. It’s pennies.
Well written and funny
Loved it