An aircraft-side aircraft data retrieval system and method, comprising: a data storage device (14) located in an aircraft (2) adapted to, during a flight, store data acquired during the flight; a transmission element (50), for example a dielectric filled hole or a coaxial transmission line assembly, in an external panel (9) of the aircraft (2); and wireless apparatus (18) adapted to wirelessly transmit, after the aircraft (2) has landed, the stored data to a ground-side data retrieval system (6) via the transmission element (50).