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Jet Likely Broke Apart in Mid-Air

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 3, 2009 5:57 PM CDT
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(Newser) – The first Brazilian navy ship arrived on the scene where Air France flight 447 is thought to have gone down, but aviation officials aren't holding out much hope of finding the black boxes, reports the BBC. "We cannot rule out that we will not find the flight recorders," said one French official. Deep-sea submersibles won't arrive until next week because of bad weather.

A Brazilian newspaper, meanwhile, published more details of the plane's final communications, which suggest the jet broke up in mid-air, notes the AP. The pilot reported he was going through dark, electrically charged clouds, conditions usually accompanied by ferocious winds and lightning. About 10 minutes later, a series of automatic distress signals kicked in as the plane's electrical system failed and the cabin lost air pressure. "This clearly looks like the story of the airplane coming apart," said an airline industry official. "We just don't know why."

From right, Paris Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy leave Notre-Dame cathedral following a service for the passengers.
From right, Paris Archbishop Andre Vingt-Trois, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy leave Notre-Dame cathedral following a service for the passengers.   (AP Photo/Bob Edme, pool)
Air France employees stand outside the Notre-Dame cathedral, in Paris.
Air France employees stand outside the Notre-Dame cathedral, in Paris.   (AP Photo/Bob Edme, pool)
A graphic details the search.
A graphic details the search.   (AP)
An aerial view of the oil slick.
An aerial view of the oil slick.   (AP Photo/Brazil Defense Ministry)
Mariana Carvalho holds a photo of friend Adriana Moreira, a passenger on Air France flight 447.
Mariana Carvalho holds a photo of friend Adriana Moreira, a passenger on Air France flight 447.   (AP Photo/Patricia Santos)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
kokuaguy
Jun 4, 2009 3:19 AM CDT
So ... stick to Boeing?
AnnieChrist
Jun 4, 2009 2:24 AM CDT
yeah, that's what I was thinking too.
Newser001
Jun 3, 2009 11:59 AM CDT
The following issues are being considered in the loss of AF447 A330 (ASN) 16 JAN 2009 EASA issues emergency AD on A330/A340 ADIRU issues - EASA issued an emergency airworthiness directive covering procedures to be applied in case of certain "NAV - IR" fault indications on the Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor (ECAM) of certain Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. The AD supersedes an earlier emergency AD dated December 18, 2008. It was issued following an accident in October 2008 when an Australian A330 experienced a sudden nose down order while in cruise. The AD states: "This order was preceded by an automatic autopilot disconnection and triggering of the "NAV IR1 FAULT" Electronic Centralised Aircraft Monitor (ECAM) Caution. Investigations highlighted that at time of the event the Air Data Reference 1 (ADR) part of ADIRU1 was providing erroneous and temporary wrong parameters in a random manner. This abnormal behaviour of the ADR1 led to several consequences such as unjustified stall and over speed warnings, loss of attitude information on Captain Primary Flight Display (PFD) and several ECAM warnings. Among the abnormal parameters, the provided Angle of Attack (AoA) value was such that the flight control computers commanded a sudden nose down aircraft movement, which constitutes an unsafe condition. At this stage of the investigation, the analysis of available data indicates that ADIRU 1 abnormal behaviour is likely to be at the origin of the event. Due to similar design, Airbus A340 aircraft are also impacted by this issue." (EASA)

 
black box • France • Atlantic Ocean • Brazil • plane crash • Air France Flight 447

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