> This occasionally happens, even though the FDR and CVR have considerable
> thermal inertia and are located in a part of the plane that is least
> frequently affected by both fire and mechanical damage. Also, the prose
> above suggests that there was some data recovered from the cocpit voice
> recorder and "some data" is probably more than they would have gotten from
> solid state memory.
>
> All the same, there has been a move from magnetic tape and metal foil to
> solid state memory in the 20+ years that I have been out of that industry.
> However, IMHO, that has been a case of obtaining more detailed data and
> information (most of the time) and greatly reduced maintenance cost (the
> frequent replacement of tapes and foils was shop maintenance) and accepting
> far less robust media in order to accomplish those goals.
>
> Personally, I can see more than one side of the arguments leading to these
> changes and I have mixed feelings regarding the wisdom of same.