Up in the air, there have been remote controls for as long as in-flight entertainment (IFE) has been in the cabin. Long before touch screens, control buttons for an IFE system were either installed in a seat’s armrest or on a tethered remote unit that retracted into a recess.
The tragic unsolved disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370, and the two-year search for the black boxes from Air France AF447 has focused the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the airline industry to adopt new standards for position reporting. Starting in 2018, airlines will be responsible for tracking aircraft every 15 minutes, and by 2021, the standard will include minute-by-minute autonomous tracking of aircraft in distress.
