Originally Posted by WestCoastFlyr

I'm not sure the FAA would be successful in securing CVR data as evidence. The administrator is prohibited from using ANY data on the CVR for any type of civil penalty or certificate action. This isn't a union thing either, it's in the CFR's. If they tried to secure the CVR data for this reason, any lawyer worth a grain of salt could likely get this data excluded quoting FAR 121.359 (h). In fact, I'm pretty sure it was also disclosed that the FAA has never, in history, listened to a CVR recording that didn't involve a serious accident, or where the NTSB balked at investigating.