The deadly Air India crash last month has reignited a decades-old debate in the aviation industry over installing video cameras to monitor airline pilots’ actions, complementing cockpit voice and flight data recorders already used by accident investigators.

One of the industry's most influential voices, International Air Transport Association Director-General Willie Walsh, a former airline pilot, said on Wednesday in Singapore that there was a strong argument for video cameras to be installed in airliner cockpits. These would monitor pilot actions alongside voice and flight data recorders.

Aviation experts noted that a preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions about whether one of the pilots of Air India flight 171 cut off fuel to the Boeing 787's engines seconds after takeoff, leading to an irrecoverable situation. The crash in Ahmedabad killed 241 of the 242 people aboard and 19 people on the ground.

"As of now, based on what little we know, it's quite possible that a video recording, in addition to the voice recording, would significantly assist the investigators in conducting that investigation on the issue of mental health," Walsh said.

Proponents of cockpit video cameras say footage could fill in gaps left by audio and data recorders. Opponents argue that privacy concerns and potential misuse outweigh what they see as limited investigative benefits.

Video footage was described as “invaluable” to Australian crash investigators in determining the cause of a 2023 Robinson R66 helicopter crash, where video revealed the pilot was distracted by mobile phone use and eating before the aircraft broke up mid-air, killing the pilot. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, in its final report released 18 days after the Air India crash, praised Robinson Helicopters for providing factory-installed cameras and encouraged others to consider similar safety features.

In 2000, US National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall urged the Federal Aviation Administration to mandate cockpit image recorders following EgyptAir Flight 990’s crash, where a first officer intentionally crashed the plane, killing all 217 on board.

"In the balance between privacy and safety, the scale tips toward safety, unequivocally," said aviation safety expert John Nance.

Anthony Brickhouse, another aviation safety expert, said video from Air India flight 171 "would have answered lots of questions."

Air India declined to comment. India's AAIB, which is expected to release a final report within a year of the crash under international rules, did not respond to requests for comment.

US pilots' unions, including the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and Allied Pilots Association (APA), argue that voice and data recorders already provide sufficient information to determine crash causes and that cameras would invade pilots’ privacy and risk misuse.

APA spokesperson Dennis Tajer said calls for cockpit cameras are understandable due to "the stress of not knowing what happened immediately after an accident" but maintained that investigators already have sufficient data.

An ALPA spokesperson said safety could be improved by enhancing existing data systems rather than adding video.

Experts also raised concerns over potential misuse of footage, including airlines using it for disciplinary actions or leaks of sensitive video to the public.

"A pilot's death being broadcast on the 6 o'clock news is not something that the pilot's family should ever have to go through," said aviation safety expert John Cox. While he acknowledged video cameras could aid investigations if confidentiality could be assured globally, he remained skeptical.

The International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations said it doubts that confidentiality could ever be guaranteed, warning that "the protection of airborne image recorder data, which can include identifiable images of flight crewmembers, would not be ensured."

Boeing declined to disclose whether its customers can order cockpit video recorders, while Airbus did not respond to requests for comment.