A 12-mile oil slick near near where Air France flight 447 crashed on Monday indicates that the plane most likely didn’t break up until it hit the water, according to Brazil’s defense minister. Defense Minister Nelson Jobim added that if this true, it would argue against the possibility of an in-flight explosion as the cause of the crash.
According to the Argentine military and police, Air France had received a bomb threat on May 27 for a flight from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Paris.The threat was received from a Spanish speaking man. Authorities checked the Boeing 777 and did not find anything. Security was tightened for flight 415, which left on time and arrived without any incidents.
As of Wednesday, the currents in the Atlantic had spread the debris widely and the search perimeter had been expanded to cover a 300 square mile area.
Investigators have yet to determine what caused the crash the plane to crash. Until the flight data recorders are recovered, finding out exactly what happened on this terrible day will be very hard.
On Wednesday’s search, the Brazilian Air Force found some objects including one with a diameter of 23 feet (7 meters). Some of the items were metallic.
On Tuesday, searchers had found two debris fields, which included an airplane seat and an orange float, located about 400 miles (650 kilometers) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands. The debris that was found on Wednesday was located roughly 56 miles (90 kilometers) south of Tuesday’s discovery.
At the moment, 11 aircraft and five ships are engaged in the search and recovery, including planes from the United States and France.
The United States National Transportation Safety Board will aid in the investigation of the crash and will work with the French Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses. The U.S. team will include technical advisers from the FAA, General Electric (makers of the plane’s engine), and Honeywell (makers of the plane’s data recorder).
A memorial for the victims of Flight AF 447, which included 61 people from France, 58 Brazilians, 26 Germans and people from 29 other countries, took place Wednesday at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Brazil has declared three days of mourning.
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Various arguments have been presented as to why Air France 447 was lost at sea. These include structural breakup, computer failure, sabotage, electrical failure, and an electrical fire. What has not been put forth as a possible explanation is unstoppable blinding smoke in the cockpit. I’m not suggesting that smoke in the cockpit is the answer. I’m only advocating that it is a possibility, one not previously offered, and no less plausible an hypothesis than any other. Let’s look at what is known.
Air France received a bomb threat several days before the crash on a different flight at a different airport. The aircraft was inspected but no bomb was found.
At 11 PM local time, the pilot sent a message that the he was flying though strong cumulonimbus thunderstorms. Other reports stated that the vertical speeds were as high as 100 miles per hour. Air France also said that the aircraft’s automatic reporting equipment reported a short circuit.
Ten minutes later, a series of automatic messages indicated that the autopilot had disengaged, stabilizing controls were damaged, and flight systems deteriorated.
At 11:13 p.m. the system that monitors speed, altitude and direction failed. The main flight computer and wing spoilers failed.
11:14 p.m. The final message indicates a loss of cabin pressure and complete system failure.
According to the DailyMail Online, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that a transatlantic airline pilot reported seeing a flash of white light at the same time the Air France flight disappeared. “ ‘Suddenly we saw in the distance a strong, intense flash of white light that took a downward, vertical trajectory and disappeared in six seconds,’ ”
Sabotage, as with an on board bomb, does not always lead to destruction of the aircraft. In the case of Swissair 330, a bomb exploded on board. The aircraft remained flyable. The pilot attempted to land but could not see due to the smoke in the cockpit. His final sentences were that he could not see to land. His last words were “good-by everybody.” Similar events happened on at least two other aircraft, an Air Cubaña DC-8 and an Air Kuwaiti 737.
Short circuits inevitably lead to wire fires. In aircraft fires the aphorism, “where there’s smoke there’s fire” can as easily be re-stated as, “where there’s fire, there’s smoke.” Wire fires are notorious for generating copious amounts of smoke.
On average, there is one unscheduled or emergency landing in North America daily. Most aircraft land without incident. But In July 2007, a NASCAR corporate twin-engine aircraft crashed. It experienced a short circuit. The wire insulation burned and that led to a cry of “smoke in the cockpit.” The aircraft crashed two minutes later. A short circuit lead to the fire and smoke in the crash of Swissair 111. It’s crash, like the crash of ValuJet 592 that preceded it, began with the cry “smoke in the cockpit.” These three examples and many others can be found in a 16-page report listing aircraft in which smoke was a cause or a factor in aircraft incidents and accidents. (See: http://www.smokeinthecockpit.com/references/List-of-Some-Smoke-Related-Accidents.pdf )
Electrical failures can lead to blinding smoke in the cockpit. Contrary to a common perception, pilots cannot see when unstoppable blinding smoke enters the cockpit. Air France 447 signaled that it was loosing cabin pressure. When smoke invades the cockpit, the Federal Aviation Administration recommends that pilots depressurize the aircraft to force the smoke out. If the smoke were a one-time event, this procedure would likely work. However, when the smoke is continuous, depressurization cannot help. The pressure on the outside and inside of the cabin would be equalized. Continuous smoke would build up, blinding the pilots.
Let me reiterate. I am not stating that continuous blinding smoke brought down Air France flight 447. I am saying that continuous unstoppable blinding smoke in the cockpit is an equally worthy hypothesis to consider. For those interested in more information on the subject, you might want to read Air Safety Week’s overview of the unsafe condition of smoke in the cockpit: http://www.smokeinthecockpit.com/references/Air-Safety-Week-Smoke.pdf
You can also read a recent (May 21st) U.S. House of Representative amendment to the FAA Reauthorization Bill (http://www.smokeinthecockpit.com/references/GAO-Amendment.pdf) that requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the unsafe condition of unstoppable blinding smoke in the cockpit. For an in-depth article on unstoppable blinding smoke in the cockpit, see —http://www.smokeinthecockpit.com/references/Blinding-Smoke.pdf
“Sub that explored Titanic to aid Flight 447 search” by Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5izoCEZ20lvDUWqP1eeo03SQUN7uAD98K0HAG2