"Wow, this'll probably be my last flight! After all, I'm just three days away from retirement..."
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Air France flight missing over the Atlantic
- Thread starter mr.peany
- Start date
TheLonelySquire
Vice Admiral
You should have resisted. That's beyond reprehensible.
Probably, but it's a matter of opinion
Practically a compliment, coming from you
^^ Enough, already.
"WHY THE $&$^$$!! IS THAT BLINKING?! WHAT THE *&@!@@!! GET A FLASHLIGHT WE BLEW A FUSE... $^&*^*!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE HAVE NO $&**!!! EXTENSION CORDS?!!!"
I deal with tragedy via humor. Bear with me.
I deal with EVERYTHING with humor, so don't sweat it.
These guys are right though, this is sad news.
Per The FAB (Brazilian Air Force) More debris fields spotted..specualtion is that the aircraft broke up at high altitude..possibly due to explosive decompression..
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5501PB20090603
terrorist action not ruled out..and more likely per the following..
http://momento24.com/en/2009/06/03/...-threat-in-argentina-days-before-plane-crash/
this could be a coincidence but I'm glad to see that nothing is being ruled out..
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5501PB20090603
terrorist action not ruled out..and more likely per the following..
http://momento24.com/en/2009/06/03/...-threat-in-argentina-days-before-plane-crash/
this could be a coincidence but I'm glad to see that nothing is being ruled out..
Here's a weather analysis of the conditions. It's highly technical, but the conclusions make it understandable.
As someone on a frequent flier board said, "think of the movie Castaway" as to what the conditions might have been.
As someone on a frequent flier board said, "think of the movie Castaway" as to what the conditions might have been.
The article mentions an issue with the ADIRU on the 330 and 340. One of those problems occurred on a QANTAS flight from the Singapore to Perth late last year which saw the plane rapidly loose altitide.
Quite a few people were hurt in the incident (the cabin was a mess with a lot panel damage).
The first of those two articles makes it pretty clear they don't think a terrorist attack is likely.
I heard about this on the news. Susan Boyle was the headline when this should've been.
My heart really goes out to the families of the passangers right now, Its devestating
My heart really goes out to the families of the passangers right now, Its devestating
"A strong, intense flash of white light that took a downward, vertical trajectory and disappeared in six seconds." I'm shuddering.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5501PB20090604
(This is not the same article as in previous posts. Note the date at the end.)
I am very sad and appalled by this crash, all the more as I have Brazilian friends and French friends who just came back from Rio.
But I am not yet black-listing Air France like some of you are doing and I'll still fly with them of course (it's a likely choice since I fly out of France). This can happen to any air company. They are calling it the worst catastrophy in Air France history (70 years). A huge fluke, it seems.
Side note: If I am informed correctly, in all air companies, they are flying all the time with one of the two flight computers down and other things not working. As passengers, you have no idea how much mainenance is overlooked because a craft can fly without it. They usually don't need the backup...
Personally, I can live with what pilots and engineers can live with. I assume they know better.
Usually.
And in this particular case, perhaps it couldn't be helped?
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE5501PB20090604
(This is not the same article as in previous posts. Note the date at the end.)
I am very sad and appalled by this crash, all the more as I have Brazilian friends and French friends who just came back from Rio.
But I am not yet black-listing Air France like some of you are doing and I'll still fly with them of course (it's a likely choice since I fly out of France). This can happen to any air company. They are calling it the worst catastrophy in Air France history (70 years). A huge fluke, it seems.
Side note: If I am informed correctly, in all air companies, they are flying all the time with one of the two flight computers down and other things not working. As passengers, you have no idea how much mainenance is overlooked because a craft can fly without it. They usually don't need the backup...
Personally, I can live with what pilots and engineers can live with. I assume they know better.
Usually.
And in this particular case, perhaps it couldn't be helped?
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^^^ I agree, Air France is a fine airline. I found their planes to be very comfortable and the food was great! The Airbus 330 is a fine plane.
It's starting to look more and more like pilot error is atleast a contributing factor. Either flying into storms they shouldn't have and/or flying at the incorrect speed in said storms.
The reported flash could've just been lightening in the distance. If you think about it, given the storms it would've been surprising to not see flashes.
Mr Awe
It's starting to look more and more like pilot error is atleast a contributing factor. Either flying into storms they shouldn't have and/or flying at the incorrect speed in said storms.
The reported flash could've just been lightening in the distance. If you think about it, given the storms it would've been surprising to not see flashes.
Mr Awe
Side note: If I am informed correctly, in all air companies, they are flying all the time with one of the two flight computers down and other things not working. As passengers, you have no idea how much mainenance is overlooked because a craft can fly without it. They usually don't need the backup...
Personally, I can live with what pilots and engineers can live with. I assume they know better.
Usually.
And in this particular case, perhaps it couldn't be helped?
I think if most people read the Aviation Herald (www.avherald.com) or the Professional Pilots Rumour Network, they'd never fly again.
In the past couple of days it reports that a 737 over Oakland took a lighting strike, an A320 in China had an RTO and 757 over Waterloo in the U.S has pressurization problems.
A lightning flash that lasts 6 seconds? Going down vertically, very straight?
I read up more about it and it looks like all electrical instruments stopped working over the course of 3 or 4 minutes, manual flying was very difficult at that altitude and in those conditions, and something happened that caused depressurization that blew the craft apart. Then it fell like a stone.
If they had been flying a little too slow under those circumstances, I suppose it could worsen the consequences of the electrical failure and finding themselves flying manually. Less impetus/inertia, less pitch. They found themselves flying a broken-down flatiron in the middle of a big storm.
Lightning hitting one of these liners is harmless routine, I'm reading. It doesn't make them go down, neither do electrical failures alone, for that matter, it seems. Pilots don't go around storms to avoid lightning.
And, to reply to Mr Awe again, I think pilots can make the difference between lightning and an unusual kind of light. (It was 2 Brazilian pilots who saw it.)
Recall that the pilot who saw the flash reported it hours later so his memory of how long a flash, insignificant at the time he saw it from a distance, lasted is very inaccurate. Eye witnesses are always very suspect. And, I've certainly seen lightening lasting 4 seconds. If the this was an extra intense storm, I think 6 seconds would be possible.
I did not see it reported that they said it was very straight. There's been reports of some failures but nothing public about "all electrical instruments" failing. Right now, we don't know how much failed electronically before they got in trouble.
Actually, the oil slicks suggest that the craft was not blown apart but rather that it hit the water relatively intact. Depressurization does not imply being blown apart. You're thinking of explosive depressurization but we don't know that at this point in time. In fact, some reports suggest that it was the pressurization equipment that failed. We just don't know.
They said that a light was seen off at a distance and it wasn't noteworthy at the time. Only after the fact when they heard about a plane crash.
They may well have seen it for all I know. But, they might not have. Again, we just don't know yet. Human recollection is notoriously poor.
Mr Awe
^^ I thought the same thing.
The article on CNN says some of the debris is not from the flight, and other debris is in doubt. If it's not from the flight, what is this debris, and where is the the Air France plane?
The article on CNN says some of the debris is not from the flight, and other debris is in doubt. If it's not from the flight, what is this debris, and where is the the Air France plane?
I hate to think about the what ifs..
what if the plane hit the water intact.. and it just sank? How long were the passengers alive?
And like Aike, i feel closest for the little five-year-old boy and his mother (due ofcourse to the mediacoverage here about them), and i am very sorry for your loss Aike. It's just heartbreaking.
what if the plane hit the water intact.. and it just sank? How long were the passengers alive?
And like Aike, i feel closest for the little five-year-old boy and his mother (due ofcourse to the mediacoverage here about them), and i am very sorry for your loss Aike. It's just heartbreaking.
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