LETTERS

Re “Airliner leaves few clues as it vanishes over ocean,” June 2

A change is needed in how we monitor aircraft. Because we can receive radio signals from devices in the outer reaches of the solar system, the technology must exist to develop a black box that can transmit data on demand to investigators two to three miles away. The current approach -- having to find the device in a remote area or at the bottom of the ocean -- seems curiously antiquated.

David Hurwitz

Calabasas

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There is no technical reason why digital flight recorder data are not sent in real time to the ground. We have the technology to do this. Then, within a couple of seconds, we would have a plane’s position, altitude and velocity safely stored on the ground. This information could be used for flight safety, aviation security and cost reduction. We don’t know what went wrong on Flight 447, but we would sure know where the plane went down, why it went down and possibly saved lives.

Sy Levine

Los Angeles

The writer is an aviation expert and physics professor.