11 January 2007
The FAA’s Flight Standards Service has issued an InFO (Information For Operators) regarding ‘noise-canceling headsets’. The InFO doesn’t mention any brands but gives this background:
‘Noise-canceling headsets cancel noise through a combination of physical means and electronic means. While this technology can have many beneficial effects such as providing clearer communications, reduced pilot fatigue, and added comfort, electronic attenuation of important environmental sounds and alarms may occur.’
The thrust of the InFO is that in certain circumstances, it is possible that the headset might cancel out noises which the pilot actually wanted to hear. These might include:
– Vital communications between flight crew members or flight attendants, other than those attainable through interphone operations;
– Abnormal mechanical noises or abnormal engine sounds;
– Audible alarms other than those discernible by electronic means;
– Vibrations or wind noises; or
– Other aircraft during ground operations.
The document points out that each manufacturer’s specifications for which frequencies are cancelled out is different, so it’s difficult for the FAA to make any specific suggestions. Instead, it throws the onus back onto the operator.
You should, it says, test your headsets both on the ground and in the normal operating environment to make sure that you can hear all the things that you’d be wanting to hear.
You can read the full document online at <a href=’http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/info/all_infos/media/2007/info07001.pdf’ target=’_blank’>the FAA website</a>.
