Air France Black Box Recovery Could Take Months

Key devices could be beyond reach of deep-sea divers
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 2, 2009 1:44 PM CDT
Air France Black Box Recovery Could Take Months
This photo shows French army air crewman patroling the presumed site of the crash of a missing Air France flight.   (AP Photo/ECPAD/French Defense Minister)

The black boxes from the missing Air France jet are crucial to determining what brought the plane down, but locating the devices could present the most daunting challenge since the Titanic mission, Reuters reports. “You are looking for a needle in a haystack,” said one industry specialist, guessing recovery could take months, especially if the boxes are beyond divers’ reach.

One oceanographer says the boxes, which record cockpit conversations and instrument data, could be more than 13,000 feet below surface—far exceeding the 2,000-ft. maximum appropriate for submarine rescues. “You will be pushing the limits of the technology,” he said. Despite the challenges, though, giving up isn’t an option, an expert insists: “Not knowing would be totally unacceptable.”
(More Air France Flight 447 stories.)

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