[brokenodo]

It’s a fair question and I find your comment to be an interesting example of resorting to a conspiracy theory because you don’t understand something that’s easily explainable.

The Boeing 737-800 has batteries that power certain things in the event of a dual engine failure, including cabin lighting.

Those same batteries, on 737s manufactured more than about 15 years ago, do not provide backup power to the flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder.

[DoctorOetker]

That seems totally backwards.

In the event of power loss, the data and voice recorded have lower priority than cabin lighting?!

And the cherry on top is that this was the case on 737's until ~ 2010?!

Defusing my bullsh!t alarm with a second layer of bullsh.t?

I would swallow it all ad fundum if you can provide HN with reliable links to manuals, procedures, ... describing how electrical energy for the passenger cabin is prioritized over the data and voice flight recorders!

[wlonkly]

I don't know if that's correct or not, but if I were to prioritize, I'd put safe passenger evacuation ahead of the recorders.

[DoctorOetker]

if the parent poster was talking about merely emergency lights being battery powered, and hence main passenger cabin lighting turning off a full 4 minutes before the crash, we go back in a circle and have to explain the apparent absence of passengers texting friends and family about a scary power loss during descent (people would quickly try to figure out if power sockets for their consumer electronics were no longer providing power either and learn from each other that it is the case).

[ekimekim]

I'm no expert, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's much, MUCH easier to get "non-critical" systems hooked up to new, better equipment as it would undergo far less checks and approvals.

[DoctorOetker]

"This is your Captain speaking, we may only have a few minutes to restore power, I am hereby commandeering all your USB cables, we daisy chain them from the passenger cabin to the cockpit" ... ?