More info on Air France flight

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Bizarre. Now they're saying it's NOT the wreckage from that plane.




RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- The Brazilian air force said Thursday night that debris picked up near where officials believe Air France Flight 447 crashed Monday into the Atlantic Ocean was not from the plane.
(Image released by the Brazilian Air Force shows oil slicks in the water near a debris site. )



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The news came after the Brazilian navy began retrieving debris Thursday that it believed was wreckage from the flight, which disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean.
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Also, this is intriguing:

As several ships trawled the debris site in the Atlantic, Brazil's defense minister said a 20-kilometer (12-mile) oil slick near where the plane, en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, went down indicated it probably did not break up until it hit the water.
If true, that would rule out an in-flight explosion as the cause of the crash of Air France Flight 447, Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told reporters.
However, both pilots of an Air Comet flight from Lima, Peru, to Lisbon, Portugal, sent a written report on the bright flash they said they saw to Air France, Airbus and the Spanish civil aviation authority, the airline told CNN.
"Suddenly, we saw in the distance a strong and intense flash of white light, which followed a descending and vertical trajectory and which broke up in six seconds," the captain wrote.
 

Mattsmom277

Active Member
I'm so confused by the differing info. Given that 3 days before, the same flight was bomb threatened, I'm wondering if it was a bomb attack to the flight. I don't understand how the computer could send out messages for 4 minutes and none of 3 pilots could have said a single thing over the radio to the towers. That to me sounds not right.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
There are a number of possible scenarios that would have no human communication but only computer. A depressurisation could have asphyxiated all on board, for example, with the plane still in the air. A multi-system failure which involved a catastrophic mid-air break-up could also have done it - a pilot can't radio in if he can't reach the microphone because the plane is in pieces in the air (although one theory is that the plane didn't break up until it hit the ocean). There could have been a failure of the manual radio system, I suspect the computer has its own radio transmitter.

Many possibilities.

THese days the bomb scenarios are the first to be examined, and examined thoroughly. They are usually very careful to get it right when they say, "It wasn't a bomb." Even without the plane, there is a great deal of evidence gathered these days that would help such an investigation. Not only are there records of the passenger list, but also how much their luggage weighed, there's CCTV footage of luggage being loaded as well as passengers, there's even records of who came to see them off. Then there are bank details, any other info about the airline itself, the staff, absolutely everything. And because so much of it is on computer, a clever investigator can find connections rapidly.

We were fast enough in 2001, to get some accurate answers within hours. We've come a long way since then.

Marg
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
There were bomb threats to that flt? Didn't know that.

All we can do is wait until more information comes out.
 

Mattsmom277

Active Member
Marg, indeed you are right, so many possible causes. I think with 9/11 though it was so easy to rapidly find out many details, as there were multiple attacks and that gave them a lead as to what to look for quickly in investigating. this case gives them no evidence of anything at all but for those 4 minutes of transmissions about systems problems. The cabin did not lost pressure first, other things happened and then the loss of pressure message came through. that is puzzling again as to what stopped the pilots at some point to notify that there were potential problems. We may never know. Especially since they may not locate the black box for more info. I hope that they do retrieve it for the families, to help shed light on such a big unknown.

Terry, there was a bomb threat 3 days prior to the crash, to the same flight from the same airline although the plane at that time was checked and okay'ed, nothing was found at that time. It just seems ironic. There are thousands of daily flights world wide. To have a threat to that particular flight route and airline only to have a plane lost with no answers yet as to what happened, is either a clue or the most bizarre coincidence.

There are reports of another pilot/crew seeing a bright flash etc from what they assume might/could be that flight while up in the air at time it got into trouble.

I am so curious about this debris. Middle of ocean, what else could it be from? And this massive large oil slick they found, it is determined now to NOT be from the plane. So there is a massive loss of oil and a bunch of debris in that part of ocean with no known cause yet. But it isn't from this aircraft. So bizarre!!!! This story gets more twists each day. I hope they find answers. I'm sure the families would in the long run do better knowing some of the details rather than nothing at all.

The authorities have not ruled out foul play at this point. I hope it is found to be from weather or something. There is too much hate in this world and I do hope it was not a act of insanity or terrorism.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
I know, I was wondering about that debris, too. Not like something you'd see every day. Especially in the same area.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
That's what I don't understand either! If they found debris and oil slicks but it's NOT from this plane, then where did it come from? There were no reports of any other planes down in this area or ships that could have had some kind of mishap? Doesn't make much sense.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
Well the body count they've found is up to 6. One man was still strapped in his seat -- which leads me to believe it was NOT any kind of explosion. If the plane broke up mid-air, I doubt they would have found whole bodies (sorry if that's too graphic). I suspect it was a mechanical failure of some sort, and they all likely suffered the effects of depressurization, dying from asphyxiation well before the plane hit the water. That's likely the one silver lining in all this... they felt no pain and never knew what hit them. At least their families have that to hold onto. God bless them all.

There are reports that the plane was due for some repairs/upgrades that hadn't taken place yet... you can bet Air France is scrambling to cover their butts right now.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Updates incl possible terrorism. Personally, I doubt it. Most terrorists want to make a splash (excuse the expression), not disappear in anonymity.
 
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