Recorded voice data, such as from cockpit voice recorders (CVRs)
or air traffic control tapes, can be an important source of
evidence for accident investigation, as well as for human factors
research. However, most of the analysis has been based on
subjective interpretation rather than the use of systematic
methods, particularly when dealing with the analysis of crew
interactions. Conversation analysis uses highly detailed and
revealing transcriptions of recorded voice (or video) data that can
allow deeper analyses of how people interact. When analysing
recorded voice data, and especially for understanding instances of
human error, often a great deal rests on investigators' or
analysts' interpretations of what a pilot said, or what was meant
by what was said, or how talk was understood, or how the mood in
the cockpit or the pilots' working relationship could best be
described. Conversation analysis can be a tool for making such
interpretations.