Air France crash probe could take year and a half; inquiry seeking funds for next stageAugust 31st, 2009 Air France crash inquiry could take more than yearPARIS — The director of the French agency investigating the crash of Air France Flight 447 says the probe could take a year and a half. BEA director Paul-Louis Arslanian says he still doesn't know exactly where the plane went down, three months after the Rio to Paris flight crashed into the Atlantic killing all 228 people aboard.
French family sues Air France over plane crash investigationAugust 21st, 2009 Air France sued over plane crash investigationPARIS — A lawyer says the family of a French flight attendant who perished in an Air France plane crash on June 1 over the Atlantic Ocean is suing the airline to force it to release information on what caused the tragedy. The Airbus jet went down while flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
Brazilian authorities use DNA to identify last body found in Air France crash that killed 228August 14th, 2009 Brazil identifies last body in Air France crashSAO PAULO — Brazilian authorities say they have used DNA to identify the last body found from the Air France jet crash in the mid-Atlantic that killed 228 people. Officials say the 50th body recovered was that of a non-Brazilian man, but they have not revealed his nationality or his identity.
French ship scans Atlantic seafloor in hunt for Air France Flight 447's black boxesJuly 30th, 2009 French begin new search for Air France black boxesPARIS — A French oceanographic survey ship has begun scanning the Atlantic Ocean floor, a new phase in the hunt for Air France Flight 447's black boxes now that they are no longer emitting signals, investigators said Thursday. The Airbus 330 crashed into the Atlantic en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, killing all 228 people onboard.
Air France Flight 447 debris arrives in France for further examination by crash investigatorsJuly 15th, 2009 Flight 447 debris returned to FrancePARIS — Debris from Air France Flight 447 has been brought to France for further examination, the agency investigating the crash said Wednesday. Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, more than 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) off Brazil's northeastern coast, on June 1 as it flew from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
2 ships ending search for Air France black boxes; French submarine continuesJuly 10th, 2009 Ships ending search for Air France black boxesRIO DE JANEIRO — Two ships using U.S. listening devices to search for the black boxes of Air France Flight 447 were ending their hunt Friday, an American commander said.
Wreckage of Air France Flight 447 en route from Brazil to France for further investigationJuly 9th, 2009 Remains of Flight 447 en route to France for probePARIS — More than 600 pieces of Air France Flight 447 are being sent from Brazil to France by ship to be studied further for clues into the June 1 crash, Airbus said Thursday. The disaster overshadowed a meeting of Air France-KLM shareholders on Thursday, with pilots saying the company didn't do enough to prevent the plane from crashing into the Atlantic Ocean.
French investigators say speed sensors not direct cause of Air France Flight 447 crashJuly 2nd, 2009 French say sensors not cause of Flight 447 crashLE BOURGET, France — A French investigator says speed sensors were a factor but were not the cause of the crash of Air France flight 447. Alain Bouillard, leading the investigation into the June 1 crash for the French accident investigation agency BEA, says the sensors, called Pitot tubes, were not the only factor.
Report: Signals detected from Air France flight 447 black boxes in Atlantic OceanJune 23rd, 2009 Report: Signals heard from Flight 447 black boxesPARIS — The French newspaper Le Monde reported Tuesday that French military ships have detected a signal from the black boxes of Flight 447 in the Atlantic depths. The report says a mini research submarine, the Nautile, dived Monday to search for the boxes based on a "very weak signal" from the flight recorders picked up by the French ships.
Air France union: All Airbus jets all have new speed monitors installed after Flight 447 crashJune 9th, 2009 union: All Air France jets have new speed monitorsPARIS — A spokesman for a pilots' union says all Air France jets taking off now have been equipped with two new-generation speed sensors. The so-called Pitot tubes on the outside of an aircaft are under suspicion in the crash of Air France Flight 447 into the Atlantic Ocean.
US Navy is sending two devices to the French to aid in search for flight recordersJune 7th, 2009 US Navy sending locators to French for plane crashWASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is sending two high-tech devices to French ships that will help them locate the black box flight recorders for the Air France plane that crashed nearly a week ago in the Atlantic Ocean.
Bodies of Air France plane crash victims' foundJune 7th, 2009 SAN PAULO - The bodies of two men from the Air France plane that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil have been found by search teams. "We confirm the recovery from the water of debris and bodies from the Air France plane," Sky News quoted Brazilian air force spokesman Colonel Jorge Amaral, as saying.
Investigator: No information on whether chief pilot at controls when Air France flight fellJune 3rd, 2009 French uncertain whether chief pilot at controlsPARIS — A French accident investigator says it is unclear whether the chief pilot of Air France Flight 447 was at the controls when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The head of France's accident investigation agency, Paul-Louis Arslanian, also says he is "not optimistic" that rescuers will recover the plane's black boxes miles (kilometers) under the water.
French confirm sighting of Air France plane debris in mid-Atlantic as recovery beginsJune 3rd, 2009 French confirm sighting of Air France plane debrisFERNANDO DE NORONHA, Brazil — French officials say debris found in the Atlantic is that of missing Air France Flight 447. French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck says French military planes surveyed the remains initially spotted by Brazilian planes, and determined that the debris "corresponds to this plane."
Prazuck says it is time to move to a "naval operation" to collect the remains and then "a submarine one" to try to find the plane's black boxes.
French airliner missing over Atlantic, 228 on board (Third Lead)June 1st, 2009 PARIS/RIO DE JANEIRO - An Air France flight with 228 people on board has been lost over the Atlantic Monday morning, sparking a major search mission off the Brazilian coast. The Airbus A330-200, flight number AF 447, left Rio de Janeiro for Paris, but radio contact was lost with the plane shortly after 0600 GMT, reports in both countries said.
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June 5th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
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
James P. Stevenson
Former Assistant Managing Editor
Air Safety Week