UN agency issues new safety rules for aircraft

The United Nations' aviation agency on Monday announced new requirements for the real-time tracking of civilian aircraft in distress, following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 two years ago.

The International Civil Aviation Organization's governing council approved proposals for planes to carry tracking devices that can transmit their location at least once a minute in cases of distress. Airplane operators will have to ensure their flight recorder data is recoverable, while the duration of cockpit voice recordings is being extended from two to 25 hours, ICAO said.

The requirements for the one-minute tracking and flight recorder data are performance-based, meaning individual airlines and plane-manufacturers can choose the best option for them, from among existing and emerging technologies, ICAO said.