MARS (Memory Access Retrieval System) Prototype Steering Committee Product Review

The MARS prototype interfaces directly to a flight recorders' memory board to read the chips one by one instead of having to substitute the memory into a working flight recorder bench unit (aka Golden Chassis). MARS does not rely on the EEPROM status or the recorder firmware but reads the information directly from the memory chips to maximize the success of recovery from severely crash-damaged recorders. The first MARS prototype will be delivered to the Saudi AIB in September 2017. Pictured is the MARS Steering Committee after completing a function test of the MARS prototype in anticipation of the delivery. The MARS prototype handles seven solid state flight recorder types at the memory board/chip level. The Steering Committee is chaired by Ismail Kashkash, Engineering Director at the Saudi AIB who is holding the MARS prototype box. Also on the Steering Committee are Directors from the National Research Council of Canada and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada as well as Plane Sciences who is developing MARS under contract to AIB.