At 15:34 17 June 2011, Walt Connelly wrote:

So FLARM was compulsory, I wonder why if failed to warn the pilots of an
impending mid-air? This would be interesting and valuable information.
My condolences to the family of the deceased pilot.

Walt


It did not necessarily fail to warn them – one or both may have ignored
the warnings, perhaps believing that a manoeuvre would avoid collision but
it was misjudged.

If the two units are not destroyed beyond recovery of stored data, Flarm
can, I believe, read the files and replay both sets of data to show what
warnings, if any, were given. I have a video clip from Flarm, showing
what 2 units would have displayed in a collision had they been operating
(the data came from 1 second logger recordings, and Flarm units I
understand store the same data and time interval). In the case of that
collision, the units both would have given about 6 seconds warning. [For
different reasons, one being faulty wiring by a glider manufacturer,
neither Flarm was actually working in that particular incident.]

If the Flarm units themselves are not readable, but the loggers are, Flarm
could do the same as they did for the collision I referred to. If loggers
are recording at wider intervals, however, 4 or 11 or whatever seconds, I
don’t know how useful that would be.

Let’s hope the accident investigators are able to produce something which
might be a learning experience for the rest of us, as one outcome of this
sad event.

Chris N.