[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 14, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2008]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 14CFR125.227]

[Page 1011-1012]
 
                     TITLE 14--AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
 
CHAPTER I--FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 
                               (CONTINUED)
 
 PART 125_CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS: AIRPLANES HAVING A SEATING CAPACITY OF 
 
             Subpart F_Instrument and Equipment Requirements
 
Sec. 125.227  Cockpit voice recorders.

    (a) No certificate holder may operate a large turbine engine powered 
airplane or a large pressurized airplane with four reciprocating engines 
unless an approved cockpit voice recorder is installed in that airplane 
and is operated continuously from the start of the use of the checklist 
(before starting engines for the purpose of flight) to completion of the 
final checklist at the termination of the flight.
    (b) Each certificate holder shall establish a schedule for 
completion, before the prescribed dates, of the cockpit voice recorder 
installations required by paragraph (a) of this section. In addition, 
the certificate holder shall identify any airplane specified in 
paragraph (a) of this section he intends to discontinue using before the 
prescribed dates.
    (c) The cockpit voice recorder required by this section must also 
meet the following standards:
    (1) The requirements of part 25 of this chapter in effect after 
October 11, 1991.
    (2) After September 1, 1980, each recorder container must--
    (i) Be either bright orange or bright yellow;
    (ii) Have reflective tape affixed to the external surface to 
facilitate its location under water; and
    (iii) Have an approved underwater locating device on or adjacent to 
the container which is secured in such a manner that it is not likely to 
be separated during crash impact, unless the cockpit voice recorder and 
the flight recorder, required by Sec. 125.225 of this chapter, are 
installed adjacent to each other in such a manner that they are not 
likely to be separated during crash impact.
    (d) In complying with this section, an approved cockpit voice 
recorder having an erasure feature may be used so that, at any time 
during the operation of the recorder, information recorded more than 30 
minutes earlier may be erased or otherwise obliterated.
    (e) For those aircraft equipped to record the uninterrupted audio 
signals received by a boom or a mask microphone the flight crewmembers 
are required to use the boom microphone below 18,000 feet mean sea 
level. No person may operate a large turbine engine powered airplane or 
a large pressurized airplane with four reciprocating engines 
manufactured after October 11, 1991, or on which a cockpit voice 
recorder has been installed after October 11, 1991, unless it is 
equipped to record the uninterrupted audio signal received by a boom or 
mask microphone in accordance with Sec. 25.1457(c)(5) of this chapter.
    (f) In the event of an accident or occurrence requiring immediate 
notification of the National Transportation Safety Board under 49 CFR 
part 830 of its regulations, which results in the

[[Page 1012]]

termination of the flight, the certificate holder shall keep the 
recorded information for at least 60 days or, if requested by the 
Administrator or the Board, for a longer period. Information obtained 
from the record is used to assist in determining the cause of accidents 
or occurrences in connection with investigations under 49 CFR part 830. 
The Administrator does not use the record in any civil penalty or 
certificate action.

[Doc. No. 25530, 53 FR 26149, July 11, 1988]