Air France 447

[Stephen B]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...06/2892426.htm

[Tony G]

There is a documentary next Tuesday evening on channel 9 at 9.40pm. Looking forward to it.



In the 21st century, commercial jetliners just don't disappear without warning. Yet, on June 1st 2009, an Airbus A330 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean with the loss of 228 lives. Speculation abounds, what really happened? How does one of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world just disappear without a trace?

Genre: Documentary
Rating: PG
Other: Closed Captions
Widescreen
Premiere

Duration: 60 mins

[Philip Argy]

Not sure about other cities but in Sydney this is now scheduled for 10.00 pm tonight for 60 minutes

[Philip Argy]

This just in:

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus could face manslaughter charges over the 2009 Air France crash that killed 228 people.
Air France flight 447 was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it crashed in the Atlantic on June 1, 2009, killing all onboard.
A French judge has ruled Airbus should be investigated for alleged manslaughter over the incident.
The crash has been partly blamed on malfunctioning speed sensors used by Airbus, with Air France accused of not responding quickly enough to reports they might be faulty.
The boss of Airbus says the probe is premature.
The announcement comes ahead of Sunday's resumption of a search for the plane's wreckage.
An ocean floor sweep last May failed to locate the plane's black box flight recorders.
The crash was the worst in Air France's 75-year history.

[Jakef]

I have wanted to ask this question ever since the 'unrelated' incidents of Air France's crash and Qantas' un-commanded aircraft movements.
Have the problems actually been found as of now? The previous post suggest not.
Would you have second thoughts now booking a flight on an A330? I know if for instance I was booking a flight from SYD-MEL and an A330 was an option, I would pick another even if it meant changing my plans.
It is probably pretty irrational, but I blame the many 'reports' I have seen since then on certain 60 minute long TV shows, and their lovely habit of scaremongering.

[Philip Argy]

This raises hope that the black boxes may be located:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin

[Mick F]

From my understanding, even if they found the FDR and CVR, the chances of anything still being on them is very slim. They are not designed to sit in the ocean for 2 years and still retain their data.

And Jake,

Would you have second thoughts now booking a flight on an A330?

No, I'd be quite happy to book a flight on an A330. The chances of anything going wrong are so minute, that it's not even worth considering.

Mick

[Philip Argy]

There's some confidence that the FDR/CVR contents will still be readable, and France is even proposing now to retrieve bodies if the latest find proves to be the missing main fuselage of AF447:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...kWC_story.html

[Jakef]

Ugh, afraid to say there won't be a whole lot left for them to retrieve. Still however a sense of closure would be important to the families of the victims. Hopefully they find the recorders in a usable state...

[Philip Argy]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin

Let's hope the memory module is recovered. The fact that the memory module is not with the chassis indicates an enormous force acting on the tail section, either in mid flight breakup or, more logically, at ocean impact.