Air France AF-447 crash mystery
June 2nd, 2009 - 12:48 am ICT by John Le Fevre ( 5 comments )
The presumed crash of Air France flight AF447 with 216 passengers and a crew of 12, continues to pose a mystery to aviation writers and analysts world-wide.
Stunned analysts say it would take extremely violent weather to bring down such a large jet, especially one as reliable and modern as the Airbus A330-200 in question.
By industry standards Air France has a relatively young fleet and the aircraft operating flight AF447, registration number F-GZCP, had only entered service in April 2005 and had passed a routine in-hanger inspection in mid-April.
Former Airbus pilot John Wiley told CNN that speculation lightning had brought down the plane was likely to prove unfounded since most modern passenger aircraft were capable of withstanding direct strikes.
Analyst Kieran Daly of online aviation news service Air Transport Intelligence said the lack of communication with the aircraft “does suggest it was something serious and catastrophic.
“The A330 is state-of-the-art, with extremely reliable engines made by General Electric.”
CNN air travel expert Richard Quest says the twin-engine plane, a stalwart of long-haul routes, has an impeccable safety record, with only one fatal incident involving a training flight in 1994.
“It has very good range, and is extremely popular with airlines because of its versatility,” he said.
Brazil and France have scrambled search and rescue aircraft on both sides of the Atlantic, but with a vast area to scour, there is dwindling hope of finding survivors.
The Brazilian Air Force said the flight AF447 was last logged flying at an altitude of 10,600 meters (35,000 feet) before contact was lost.
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Tags: AF447, air france, air france flight, air transport intelligence, airbus a330 200, aviation news, aviation writers, brazilian air force, cnn, crash mystery, impeccable safety record, john wiley, lack of communication, passenger aircraft, pilot john, rescue aircraft, richard quest, training flight, travel expert, twin engine plane, violent weather
June 2nd, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Just to express my deep hearted sympathy to all the families & friends of all the AF 447 passengers & crews.
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:06 pm
Lightning is not the only explanation, nor most likely.
Most likely is a cascading series of failures leading to high speed stall in what pilots term Coffin’s Corner. A narrow speed range in which an aircraft is controllable at very high altitudes. Fall out of that band of airspeed, especially in darkness with no autopilot and an aircraft will stall and tumble until it breaks up.
The A330 would have cruised about 470 knots, although at 0214 GMT the ACARS system’s last signal said 453 knots at 35,000ft. Possibly the pilots reduced speed deliberately to penetrate turbulence, however this would reduce speed perilously close to the stall speed. (stall speed increases in very thin air to almost match cruise speed)
Either way at 0200 GMT the Captain used ACARS to text he had encountered serious turbulence, encountering towering thunderclouds.
14 Minutes later the last automated signal reported depressurisation and electrical failure. If you encounter severe turbulence at these speeds you will cause structural damage to the aircraft. Enough perhaps to rupture the fuselage and tear apart wiring. Loss of electrical power likely tripped the autopilot offline in a dark cockpit. With the aircraft only flying at 453 kts it is highly likely the aircraft stalled and broke up.
My apologies to the relatives if this comment is offensive, however I believe it is the most credible explanation of Flight 447’s last moments.
June 4th, 2009 at 9:32 am
Weather? No, planes just don’t came down because of the weather. So many planes go and come from Rio de Janeiro!
Just look around the accident with QF72! Big technical failure! That and human cause (not applied in this case) are the main causes of plane crashes… but technical failure are more difficult to identify, why? They’re NOT good for plane constructors and airlines!
April 7th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
From the look of it, this whole horrorful tragedy has its marks of sinister involvement.
From a spiritual perspective, it has got to do with the Devil. How, one might ask?
Any one of those (esp adults) in the ill - fated flight who have been to witch - doctors for help/needs, involved with & carrying talisman or involved with occult acitvities offering their souls tothe Devil in return for favours.
From spiritual perspectives, accidents very horrifying in any manner has got to do with the Devil.
Naturally, people will say/argue that its very natural due to natural malfunction (of Aircraft) or human failure on the part of the pilots. But it could or could not be..
But reading about this tragedy in detail, portrays none other than demonic involvement.
We must know that the Devil is a liar & a murderer.
May God Bless You
June 9th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
A330 problem