Air France flight missing over the Atlantic
- Thread starter mr.peany
- Start date
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8079122.stm
Floating debris, including airplane seats, has been found in the ocean.
Floating debris, including airplane seats, has been found in the ocean.
doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
One of the people on the plane was a schoolboy aged 11 from Clifton College which is just down the road from me. There are a number of news vans outside now, hopefully they'll have the good sense to leave the kids alone. (Clifton College is a private boarding school, the kids are likely to be very close)
That was my first thought, an almost immediate disintegration. But apparently the plane was sending automated messages for 4 minutes. Not sure why the pilots didn't communicate then? Maybe the figured they were too far out for any help so didn't bother? It's weird.
But the plane was sending out automated maintainence reports indicating problems. I suppose it's possible but guessing it's not pilot suicide.
I suppose that's possible too. Apparently they can fly the plane even if all computers and and backup systems are down. One CNN expert said that there were in fact manual backups for that scenario of complete electrical/computer failure. But, I suppose flying it that way in a storm would be more difficult. However, not sure why the pilots didn't radio? The plane was sending out automated messages for 4 minutes. That's plenty of time for the pilots to radio.
Unless the pilots already perished. Maybe hail punctured the cockpit windows? But, not sure if the plane could've flown in that condition for 4 minutes. Weird.
What could leave a plane flying for 4 minutes but the pilots not radioing? Unless they figured they were just so far out that they deemed it wouldn't be helpful in the face of whatever was going on.
They've found the wreckage. Floating seats and what not. Assuming this helps them find the black box, this should help provide answers and hopefully prevent this from happening again.
Mr Awe
It's likely a communications fault, or the pilots were incapacitated or dead - basic flying protocol which was drummed into me the first day I did flying lessons with the RAF (no, I didn't stay!) was "mayday, mayday, *callsign* is declaring an emergency, my position is ******, I say again position is ******, <describe fault if there's time>" - there's rarely time for much to be done before you crash, but the idea is so they can find you afterwards. Even if the pilots thought everything had gone to hell in a handbasket, if they could have squawked, they almost certainly would have.
Agree with you - the automatic damage reports suggest this is unlikely.
Always pays to ask how the captain is before boarding... 
Sorry - in poor taste, I know.
Sorry - in poor taste, I know.
Reckon they'll attempt to retrieve the black box if it is indeed at the bottom of the Atlantic? Are they even capable of diving that deep?
Under normal conditions the autopilot can function a *lot* longer that that without the pilots. Some planes can even land on their own.
You aren't supposed to use the autopilot in turbulent air, however.
The chap on the BBC being interviewed about it said the box could be as deep as 15-20 thousand feet, the USN has previously retrieved a black box from 10,000ft down, but this would be a new challenge.
It sounds like they have independent backups that are not connected to the main systems. That's what I have a hard time understanding. But, I suppose there are possible scenarios that explain this. Either, they could not communicate as you say or they were dead and the plane continued to fly for a bit.
Well, the plane crashed so, yeah, catastrophic for sure. But, not necessarily quick. Problems existed for at least 4 minutes before the plane stopped sending automated messages.
I wondered about a couple of things. You're a pilot, right? So you'd probably know better than I. If say the windshield was punctured while the autopilot was on, would the plane be intact enough to continue to fly for a bit or would the wind getting inside the cockpit start ripping the plane apart immediately? Obviously probably not much if any data to answer that one!
Also, I remember a recent crash, forget which one, where there was bad weather but the pilots had the autopilot on. According to reports, that was standard procedure so that pilots could focus on monitoring more important things. So, if this was just routine turbulence, they might well have kept the autopilot on?
I'm not convinced that they experienced anything more than normal storm turbulence. If there was something unusual, we'd have meteologists coming on pointing to satellite photos saying "holy crap there was a big storm right there at that time!" But, we don't. And, yeah, I know about clear turbulence and other stuff that doesn't show up on satellite images but generally they don't bring down the most sophisticated and very new large commercial jets.
That's not to say that the turbulence didn't aggrevate another problem but I believe it would've been some sort of interaction like that. Turbulence cracking a defective part or something.
Mr Awe
The plane being relatively new - 2005 I think, is not such good news in flying terms, as this means the safety record hasn't had enough time to become reassuring. I suppose this failure now could put the rest in question...
I, personally, would prefer to get on a rickety old, but proven airplane, rather than a brand new shiny one.
I, personally, would prefer to get on a rickety old, but proven airplane, rather than a brand new shiny one.
1st A330 flight in 1992.
Perhaps it was just that particular jet that came into service at that time - I remember reading it on Reuters, or the BBC.
Who could have guessed ? The plane was entirely checked last month.
Very sad accident
I just hope they are able to figure out what happened to this plane, it will however take lots of time and if they dont manage to get the black boxes and enough wreckage togheter, it maybe that we will never know what really happened
These kind of accidents that happen mid-flight are quite rare, and I think think this is an first major accident to this type of Airbus.
I offer my deepest condolences to the familys and friends of the victims
I just hope they are able to figure out what happened to this plane, it will however take lots of time and if they dont manage to get the black boxes and enough wreckage togheter, it maybe that we will never know what really happened
These kind of accidents that happen mid-flight are quite rare, and I think think this is an first major accident to this type of Airbus.
I offer my deepest condolences to the familys and friends of the victims
Trust me, this type of plane is proven. It's up there with the best of the best. I have flown in them before and would happily do so again.
Mr Awe
Can't they fly around storms - just to be extra safe? This may delay the flight - but isn't it better than risking getting hit by lightening, even if the plane is designed to take a hit... It can't be much fun to be a nervous flier and run a gauntlet of lightning!
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