PLT388: Flight Data and Cockpit Voice Recorders
What code PLT388 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Flight Data and Cockpit Voice Recorders before your checkride.
Recall regulations - cockpit voice / flight data recorder(s)
What this means for your checkride
For aircraft required to carry a flight recorder and cockpit voice recorder, operations generally may not be conducted unless that equipment complies with the applicable requirements of the part under which the certificate is issued. Limited exceptions allow ferrying an aircraft with an inoperative recorder to a repair location or continuing a flight if a recorder fails after takeoff.
Recorders preserve data essential to accident and incident investigation.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.