by Jonathan on December 28, 2009
Jean-Paul Troadec, the head of the the Investigation and Analysis Bureau, said that the search for the Air France flight 447 data recorders will resume in February 2010.
Troadec also said that a final report into the crash of flight 447 will be be done by the end of 2010.
As we all know, the Airbus A330 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. About 1,000 pieces of the plane were recovered and only 51 bodies out of the 228 who were on board. What we don’t know for a fact is why the plane went down. The only way that this question with absolute certainty is if the data recorders are recovered and analyzed.
The search area for this new search will be about 30 miles long.compared to the 90 previous search area. The new search will cost about 10 million euros ($14.2 million) and will be paid by both Air France and Airbus.
In an effort to find more answers, the BEA will also interview passengers that were on a November 29 flight that was also flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. The pilots from that flight brought the plane down 2,000 feet to avoid turbulence. They acted on their own after requesting permission from air traffic controllers in Dakar, Senegal and not getting a reply.
by Jonathan on October 27, 2009
Great news for the investigation of Flight 447. It looks like the search for the data recorders will resume next year. Although the chances are slim, it’s better than nothing.
From the New York Times
France is preparing to spend as much as €20 million next year on a renewed search for the flight data recorders and undersea wreckage of the Air France A330 jetliner that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in June, killing all 228 people aboard, the new head of the French agency charged with investigating the accident said Monday.
The news comes amid mounting tension within Air France as the airline prepares for an external audit of its flight safety procedures next month.
The agency, the Bureau of Investigations and Analyses, has begun preparing for a third attempt to locate the black boxes of Air France Flight 447 that it expects will begin early next year, with the support of experts and specialized equipment from the United States, Britain, Brazil and Russia, said Jean-Paul Troadec, who took over as head of the agency this month.
Click here to read the entire article
by Jonathan on August 26, 2009
The families of Brazilian passengers who lost their lives on the June 1 crash of Air France flight 447 are demanding a criminal investigation.
According to the government news service Agencia Brasil, the association that represents the victims’ relatives have filed a petition with the federal attorney general’s office requesting “an investigation against the possible culprits of the accident.”
The news was reported on Wednesday, and calls to Air France’s press office remained unanswered.
Source: AP
by Jonathan on August 21, 2009
The family of Clara Amado, an Air France flight attendant who died on the June 1 crash of flight 447, is seeking legal action against Air France.
Clara Amado, 31, was one of the 228 people that were on board Air France flight 447 when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1, killing all 228 on board.
Jean-Claude Guidicelli, the lawyer, who’s acting for Amado’s relatives, said that her family was the second to call legal action against Air France. He is seeking to get the carrier placed under formal investigation before September 24, the day when Air France and families of the victims are scheduled to meet for the fourth time since the crash.
“We want answers to our questions and we want to know the exact causes of the accident and we want people to assume their responsibilities,” said Jean-Claude Guidicelli.
A judicial inquiry into involuntary homicide has also been opened in relation to the crash.
Although Air France declined to comment on the case of Amado’s family, they said that they are cooperating fully with all investigations.
From Reuters
by Jonathan on August 20, 2009
That’s it. It’s over. French investigators have officially called off the second phase search for the black boxes from Air France flight 447.
AF447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 while en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, France. All 228 people on board were killed. The flight’s voice and data recorders are crucial to providing information on what caused flight 447 to crash.
The BEA, the French accident investigation agency, said in a statement that the research ship that is leading the search for the black boxes in the second phase of the search have left the site. The ship, the Pourquoi Pas, is scheduled to arrive in Dakar, Senegal on Thursday.
According to the statement, the second phase of the search efforts “has finished” and investigators and experts will gather, in the coming weeks, to determine if they are going to launch a third phase.
BEA spokeswoman Martine del Bono said “we have not found the wreckage, we have not found the recorders”. She also said that the BEA will gather a team of roughly 10 specialists from around the world, including Brazil, France, the United States, and Germany, to study the data that has been gathered from the second phase and to decide the requirements and cost of a possible third phase. No estimates were given as to when a possible third phase would commence.
Bono said that the investigation was far from finished and that the black boxes must be found, which leads me to believe that they will continue to look for the black boxes.
The first phase of the search recovered 50 bodies and over 600 pieces of debris that was scattered throughout the ocean.
The second phase of the search was operated jointly by the French Navy and the French Research Institute for Exploration of the Sea. It was led by the Pourquoi Pas, which contained a manned submarine, the Nautile, a remote-controlled robot, the Victor 6000, and special sonar.
Airbus has promised to help fund a third phase of the search area.
Source: AP
by Jonathan on July 15, 2009
An Iranian airliner crashed on Wednesday, killing all 168 passengers and crew. According to a security official, the Capsian airlines plane, a three-engine Russian Tupolev Tu-154M, disintegrated into pieces. The aircraft crashed near the village of Jannatabad near Qazvin at 11:33 a.m (2:03 a.m. ET). The plane was heading from Tehran to Yerevan, Armenia.
“The aircraft all of a sudden fell out of the sky and exploded on impact, where you see the crater,” a witness told Press TV from the crash site.
The crash was at least the fifth major airline accident in the world this year, following crashes of planes flown by Colgan Air, Turkish Airlines, Air France and Yemenia Airways. A US Airways pilot managed to land his plane safely on the Hudson river in New York City in January, with no major injuries, after the plane lost power.
Our hearts are with the families and friends of the victims.
Read the entire story on CNN
by Jonathan on July 9, 2009
The Union of Air France Pilots (SPAF) have accused French and European safety bodies in failing to prevent the crash of Air France flight AF447 because they ignored a history of dangerous failures in the Airbus speed probes.
A lot suspicion has risen ever since the crash of flight 447. Many people, including a lot in the aviation world, really believe that Air France, Airbus, and French investigators are reluctant to pinpoint the design flaw of the Airbus as the cause of the crash that killed the 228 people.
The views of the Union of Air France Pilots were reinforced today when Air France CEO, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, suggested that the pilots’ failure to manage weather radar correctly may have led to the deadly crash on June 1.
The pilots’ union said that the French Civil Aviation Directorate and the European Aviation Safety Agency failed in their obligation to act to resolve the known dangers. The union referred to repeated incidents with faulty speed information on the AIrbus A330/A340 aircraft over the past two years.
“We consider that if the appropriate measures had been carried out by your respective agencies, the problem encountered by the crew of AF447…would have averted the start of the sequence of events that lead to the loss of control of the aircraft,” said the union, which is the second body representing AF pilots.
The preliminary report that was released on July 2 confirmed that incorrect speed readings led the automatic pilot and computerized flight controls to disconnect - just like in the other reported incidents in past two years. Investigators said that the incorrect speed data was only an element, and not the cause of the crash.
Click here to read the article on TimesOnline.co.uk
by Jonathan on July 7, 2009
NASA is funding a project run by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to identify areas of rapidly developing turbulence and storms over remote areas of the ocean.
The scientist are working on a way to predict areas of turbulence in clear skies and within storms. By predicting the areas of turbulence, the system can help guide pilots away from such areas and potentially avoid disasters such as what happened to flight 447. They are trying to accomplish this by applying artificial intelligence to satellite data and computer generated models of weather.
Although there is already a system in place, over the continental Unite States, that alerts pilots and air traffic controllers to turbulence, alerting pilots who fly over open ocean is harder to accomplish. Pilots who fly over oceans do get information from weather satellites, but they don’t provide as many images or measure turbulence.
The system is expected to be tested by pilots next year.
Read more about this on Informationweek.com
by Jonathan on July 5, 2009
Arthur Coakley, 61 Engineer for PDMS
The body of
Arthur Coakly, the 61 year-old businessman from North Yorkshire, has been identified.
His wife, Patrcia, was notified that one of the recovered bodies was of her husband.
Arthur was one of the five British people that were on board. He is survived by his wife, two sons, Dominic and Patrick, and daughter, Mise.
by Jonathan on July 5, 2009
Eight more bodies out of the 51 that have been recovered from Air France flight 447 have been identified.
A statement was released on Saturday, by the Public Safety Department of the northeastern state of Pernambuco says that so far, 43 bodies out of the 51 have been identified.
The 43 identified include:
9 Brazilian men
8 Brazilian women
9 foreign men
17 foreign women
The names of the identified victims have not been released. The relatives of the Brazilians and the relevant foreign embassies have been notified.
