Air France black boxes may never be found

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The official said if the black boxes are at the bottom of the sea — three miles (five kilometers) deep in some nearby areas — there was nothing the Brazil navy could do as they do not have the special remotely controlled subs needed to withstand the pressure at the ocean's bottom.

If the black boxes have sunk, she said, "We don't have the equipment to look for them."

...

France dispatched a research ship equipped with unmanned submarines that can explore as deeply as 19,600 feet (6,000 meters).

...

In Paris, the head of France's accident investigation agency, Paul-Louis Arslanian, said he was "not optimistic" that rescuers could even recover the black boxes and investigators should be prepared to continue the probe without them.

"It is not only deep, it is also mountainous," he said. "We might find ourselves blocked at some point by the lack of material elements."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090603/ap_on_...ca/brazil_plane

[Marina-Del 10]

Oh, that's sad

I guess the only benefit of finding them would be to find out exactly what happened. But that's a pretty big benefit as it could -depending on the results- actually save the same thing from happening again.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Oh, that's sad

I guess the only benefit of finding them would be to find out exactly what happened. But that's a pretty big benefit as it could -depending on the results- actually save the same thing from happening again.

yup

[Peikko 1,575]

What strikes me as odd in all this, is how long it took from the first sign there were problems with the flight (the auto messages sent and received) to a decision that something was seriously amiss. That said, it's amazing they have found anything, I'm actually a little surprised that they have.

Edited June 3, 2009 by Madame Cleo

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Whatever happened on that plane - sounds like it was more or less instantanous.

[Nagishkaw 510]

I agree, and hope for the passengers and crew's sake that they didn't suffer.

[NickD 203]

"Nobody in their right mind would ever go through a thunderstorm," said Tim Meldahl, a pilot who has flown internationally for 26 years. "If they were trying to lace their way in and out of these things, they could have been caught by an updraft." From that article, really have to agree to that, 228 lives were lost in this "accident".

Wife was upset to hear about this accident, we flew in an Airbus A330 a couple of months ago, but guess our time isn't up yet. Have far more faith in Boeing as lightning strikes in aircraft are quite common, but suppose to pass harmlessly through the aircraft without destroying the electrical system, but on this, one can only speculate as exact cause of the problem. FYI, try to avoid the Boeing 727 and 747, but what the heck, if you do go, would save your family on funeral expenses, plus the airlines will also give them a couple of buck and this time, I mean that literally.

Gulf is also noted for severe electrical storms, and with the internet, can learn the weather yourself before you take off, but your pilot is suppose to know, if he can't fly over, flies around, or simply turns back. But they don't like flying around or turning back, cost extra bucks. And if the weather looks bad, would play hell trying to change your ticket.

When our A330 took off from Toronto in icy rain conditions, told my wife, if they don't deice the wings, we are getting off, even if we have to break the door down. But they did deice the wings, and I held her hand until we hit 2,000 AGL, then I knew we were okay. With airlines, you are putting your trust in the hands of other people, but why am I so darn paranoid? But some things you can check yourself, like the weather and say hello to the pilot and co-pilot when you board the plane and use your ESP to determine whether you are in good hands or not.

Still feel very uncomfortable at check in, seems like with the ACLU, the Arab looking people aren't nearly as scruntized as we unfortunate white people are, but like to look over my fellow passengers when boarding.

[almaty 19]

i agree..it will never be found

[Marina-Del 10]

What strikes me as odd in all this, is how long it took from the first sign there were problems with the flight (the auto messages sent and received) to a decision that something was seriously amiss. That said, it's amazing they have found anything, I'm actually a little surprised that they have.

I thought the same thing. The original article I read (on Monday morning I guess it was) said that the last contact was around 2:30 or something and that they were scheduled to check back in at 3:20am (these times are coming out of my head, but I think that's right!). Anyway, they didn't send out the warnings that something had gone wrong until about 6am! That's like 3 hours!

1. They got warning messages that something was wrong

2. The plane didn't check back in when it was supposed to.

Seems like quite a long time to me. And while I'm sure a faster response would not have saved any more lives, it might have helped them find the wreckage. But then again, I don't know the protocol for these things. Maybe, it's normal for planes not to check back in or something? Doubt it, but who knows...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

seems like with the ACLU, the Arab looking people aren't nearly as scruntized as we unfortunate white people are...