Air France flight disappears over Atlantic 228 ppl

[B_starinvestor]

Fears for 228 as Air France jet vanishes - CNN.com


real bad

 

[D_Jared Padalicki]

That ain't good. Expectations aren't very high. Let's hope for the best.

 

[Jake90]

I'd be tempted to say it sounds reminiscent of "LOST" but that sounds a bit flippant when ppl have probably died. Let's hope for a miracle like the water landing in NY and that there are at least some survivors.

 

[Drifterwood]

I am afraid that it looks as though this plane, passengers and crew have gone down. The reason is that even if it hadn't and there had been some technical comms fault, the plane would have run out of fuel by now and there is still no contact.

 

[B_starinvestor]

I am afraid that it looks as though this plane, passengers and crew have gone down. The reason is that even if it hadn't and there had been some technical comms fault, the plane would have run out of fuel by now and there is still no contact.

it is probably a foregone conclusion that it went down. Question remains at this point...could they have executed a soft landing and perhaps there may be some survivors if they can be located in time.

 

[D_CountdeGrandePinja]

All are held up in prayer!

 

[sandie305]

lets pray they are ok xx

 

[B_Nick8]

They're saying now they think it may have been hit by lightening. Tragic.

 

[Krusader]

Yea real tragic news

 

[mitchymo]

Mostly Brazilian, French and German on board...Air France has released initial figures and includes 9 Italians, 6 Americans, 5 Chinese, 5 British, 4 Hungarian, 3 Irish and 2 Spanish

 

[B_starinvestor]

They're saying now they think it may have been hit by lightening. Tragic.

the abrupt disconnection of radio contact suggests either lightening or an act of the T-word....or some similar catastrophic event.

The aircraft had just had maintenance performed in mid-April. Also, a very skilled and experienced pilot was at the helm.

 

[B_starinvestor]

They're saying now they think it may have been hit by lightening. Tragic.

I read that in a few sources; but also saw an interview with an expert from FAA that indicated that in the 70s and 80s an airplane lightening strike was possible; but since the planes now fly at substantially higher altitudes, it was highly unlikely that it was lightening.

Very bizarre, nonetheless.

 

[Flashy]

8 little kids on board too. :frown1:

 

[2322]

Hmmm.....

The US DOT issued an airworthiness directive for the A330 related to structural issues four days ago. The directive doesn't come into effect until June 12 but it does highlight a potential problem:

Airbus Model A330-202, -223, -243, -301, -322, and - 342 Airplanes

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for the products listed above. This AD results from mandatory continuing airworthiness information (MCAI) originated by an aviation authority of another country to identify and correct an unsafe condition on an aviation product. The MCAI describes the unsafe condition as: During the A330 and A340 aircraft fatigue test, cracks appeared on the right and left sides between the crossing area of the keel angle fitting and the front spar of the Centre Wing Box (CWB). Several modifications have been introduced in the fleet in the area of frame [FR] 40 keel angle assembly in order to prevent these cracks. However the new design has caused interference between one fastener and the keel angle which was corrected by further local reprofiling of the keel angle horizontal flange. Analysis shows that without an inspection of this reprofiled area, the structural integrity of the area is impacted, which constitutes an unsafe condition. -US Department of Transportation

I really do not like flying over large bodies of water with only two engines. Give me four any day.

 

[2322]

Interesting...

If the plane was heading into thunderstorms, and equatorial storms are the biggest there are, and the plane experienced catastrophic electrical failure, then I'm wondering if the weather radar was hit by lightning. That's the radar up-front in the cone and it's not shielded. If that was hit then the crew would be flying blind and unable to navigate around the super cells.

The A330 is a fly-by-wire craft which depends upon its electrics working in order to control the plane. There are redundant systems should the electrics go belly-up, including a manual control system.

However!

This got me thinking about the only other commercial crash of an Airbus I know about as it happened in Queens right after 9/11. That crash was bizarre and many thought it was a terrorist strike. It wasn't. That crash was caused when the pilot managed to cripple the manual control system causing the rudder and other control surfaces to break off the plane. I wonder if that isn't what happened here.

I know very little about planes so I might be talking out my ass, but I wonder if the A330 emergency controls aren't similar to the ones in the A300 and if that manual system isn't a weak point in the plane design. Looking around, I see one guy who is a pilot has speculated a link between the two for the same reasons.

The thing is, I don't know what kind of maintenance the plane had in April. Did they do all the structural X-rays and other major work or was it a more routine service?

Ugh! Where's Claire?

 

[2322]

Going over the passenger roles, I don't see anyone of particular interest to terrorist attackers. There were executives from Michelin and Thyssen on board but the only person who may have some political charge around him is Prince Pedro Luis of Orleans-Braganza who is fourth in line to the Brazilian throne... if Brazil was still a monarchy (it hasn't been for 120 years). Monarchists have been active in Brazil of late, holding rallies and demonstrations, however I can't tell how much political traction they have or if there were violent threats against the royal family, who are actively pro-monarchist.

 

[2322]

OK, now it's getting weird.

"I love you" or "I'm afraid" were some of the messages from phone to the passengers of the plane of Air France sent their relatives disappeared when they realized that the aircraft had problems.

​

The president of the union of business aviation in Brazil, Ronaldo Jenkins, who had access to the restricted area where the victims' families accompanying the conduct of operations, confirmed to JN that the SMS was sent in by passengers. -Journal de Noticias

Now how did mere cell phones, with a limited range of about 25 miles, manage to communicate with land if the plane was out of range of radio? This plane isn't lost in the middle of the Atlantic, it's relatively close to land someplace. The question is, where were the SMS messages received?


And if the passengers were aware of a problem, why no contact from the crew via the SATCOM that managed to contact Paris on its own?

 

[nudeyorker]

I have been very upset by this story all day. I did not want to post any judgments until I watched the news and had more information. They just reported that it's likely that they were struck by lightning and had electrical failure and lost all cabin pressure and it's considered likely that the aircraft exploded. I feel so sad for the families and friends who lost loved ones.

 

[B_Stronzo]

This just in.

I'm watching Katie Couric and the evening news. They're saying lightning could not have been the reason it went down. Passenger airline craft are prepped for lightning strikes as a matter of course. "It would be as if a flash bulb went off in your eyes and then auxilliary electrical system would kick in" was the wording.

This is some scary stuff. They're saying they may never recover anything of the airplane since the search area is "roughly the size of the Continental U.S."

I grow more and more frightened of air travel as I get older.

I leave fairly soon for Italy and I'm entirely spooked.

This is an unspeakable tragedy.

 

[deleted15807]

It's going to be a long sad investigation for sure. The black boxes will probably take weeks to find and surely is at the bottom of the ocean somewhere.

It all reminds me of Adam Air Flight 574. Disappeared over the ocean, black boxes found at the bottom of the ocean. It was an entire week before anything was found. And 20 something days before the black boxes were found and 8 months before they were retrieved. But cost was the main issue hindering the recovery which shouldn't be an issue here.