Missing Malaysia jet: Time to rethink the black box

Dr. Oliver McGee on why airliners need to implement devices that can upload data in real time

The announcement that the missing Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in a remote corner of the Indian Ocean has some experts questioning how the search process could have gone better and faster.

In an interview with Fox News’ William LaJeunesse, Oliver McGee questioned why aircraft black boxes don’t upload data in real time. McGee is an aerospace, mechanical and civil engineer.

“Without the black box we really don’t know how to ascertain the mysteries behind this crash,” McGee said. “We really need to start thinking how a new direction in the nexus of forces in aviation safety and security is the future.”

To achieve a new standard, McGee points to using the cloud, big data and mobile wireless.

“How do we communicate with these planes, how do we keep in touch,” McGee said. “It’s time to put the black box into the cloud and then transmit all the information [instantaneously].”

McGee, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Transportation during the Clinton Administration, says the government needs to take the lead in implementing a new policy for the black boxes.

“Now we’ve moved from a ‘search and rescue’ to a ‘search and cause’ … [that’s]why now need to have patience and this is going to be an investigation over years,” said McGee. “We’re also going to learn what we need to invest in.”