Cargo Surveillance System

AD Aerospace’s Cargo Surveillance System monitors the cargo holds in passenger and freighter aircrafts. The system comprises a number of CCTV cameras connected to a digital video server. The cargo surveillance system allows real-time streaming to EFB or dedicated LCD display. The system allows the crew to keep a visual check on cargo loading, assess progress, and to monitor for illegal activity.

Commercial airliner passenger baggage is highly vulnerable to theft. This is particularly the case when being loaded loose in bulk cargo areas. Thefts often occur as bags are transferred onto the aircraft. This is because crews are unsupervised and out of range of security measures within the airport.

AD Aerospace can provide a cargo surveillance system within the hold of the aircraft itself. Covert cameras pass images to a concealed video server. These images can be broadcast to nearby ground security [RD1] or stored on solid state memory. Data can be retrieved easily later by authorised staff.

Knowledge that activity is being monitored acts as a deterrent to baggage theft. Surveillance encourages ground staff to take more care. The recorded images on the server are labelled with date, time, camera, aircraft tail number and system identification number.

Should an incident occur watermarking facilities are available to identify the recording as first evidence and therefore qualified for use in court. The standard configuration has the system active only when there is weight on wheels and the baggage hold door is open, using video motion technology to trigger recording.

Knowledge that a system is fitted can therefore be restricted to relevant security personnel. As the system is not active during flight not even the crew need to be informed of its presence, helping to maintain secrecy.

This AD Aerospace aircraft cargo surveillance system is compatible with Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) technology, so if desired loading and unloading can be monitored live from within the cockpit or the video data can be quickly retrieved to be reviewed by security personnel at their workstations.