Air France Black Boxes Almost Found

WindSock

News:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8664127.stm

The flight recorders from an Air France plane which crashed in the Atlantic last year have been located to within a 5km zone, a French official has said. But Gen Christian Baptiste told AFP that retrieving the boxes from the ocean floor might be impossible.
All 228 people on board the flight from Rio to Paris died in the crash.
The cause remains unknown. The plane's airspeed probes had given false readings, but officials believe other factors must also have contributed.

Finding the boxes, which record flight data and cockpit conversations, should allow investigators to finally explain the mystery of why the plane came down.
It appears the location zone has been traced using images obtained during the first phase of searching for the wreckage, when the flight recorders were still emitting a signal.

Complex operation
French government and military officials have urged caution, saying there is no guarantee the flight recorders will be found.
"It's like trying to find a shoe box in an area the size of Paris, at a depth of 3,000m (9,800ft) and in a terrain as rugged as the Alps," French navy spokesman Hugues du Plessis d'Argentre told AFP.

A fresh search was launched earlier this year involving US and Norwegian ships with sonar probes and robots, in what officials described as "one of the most complex undersea operations ever".
The area covered by the high-tech vessels will now be reduced from 1,500 sq km (580 sq miles) to just 3-5 sq km, in a remote area far off the coast of Brazil.

Air France flight AF447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared on 1 June 2009 in stormy weather, killing all those on board.

I thought it was gone for good. Glad it was found, it will give the poor families a bit of closure as to what happened.

Abrasax

WindSock wrote: »

News:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8664127.stm



I thought it was gone for good. Glad it was found, it will give the poor families a bit of closure as to what happened.

They've been located to within a 5 kilometre radius and may not be retrievable from the ocean floor.

biko

Located to within a radius and nigh impossible to retrieve doesn't mean "found" in my dictionary.

Tabnabs

"located to within a 5km zone" and found are two different things surely

Forest Master

OP didn't even bother to read his own post - FFS!

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Very misleading title OP.

WindSock

Gah. I guess not. Didn't see that bit. But at least they have narrowed it down. Title changed.

TheZohanS

It's like trying to find a shoe box in an area the size of Paris, at a depth of 3,000m (9,800ft) and in a terrain as rugged as the Alps

So they're sending women....

Dravokivich

even then... not only with the beacon being active for a short time frame after an accident... how long before the data is meant to degrade as well?

GavRedKing

It would be interesting to find out what happened if they do find the black boxes. Although they have narrowed downthe search their is a lot of if and buts in the statment to suggest it will still be very,very difficult to locate them.

Cookie_Monster

French government and military officials have urged caution, saying there is no guarantee the flight recorders will be found.

why caution? would they not just urge them to find it faster :pac:

Dravokivich

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

why caution? would they not just urge them to find it faster :pac:

I think there's something lost in translation there... I believe the idea behind "Issue caution" was that they didn't want people to rush to the expectation that the black boxes will be retrieved.

Cookie_Monster

Dravokivich wrote: »

I think there's something lost in translation there... I believe the idea behind "Issue caution" was that they didn't want people to rush to the expectation that the black boxes will be retrieved.

why, have they found that already?

Dravokivich

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

why, have they found that already?

Found what already?

Cookie_Monster

Dravokivich wrote: »

Found what already?

"the expectation" of course

Dravokivich

right... I think you should take note of the part where I said

they didn't want people to rush

Cookie_Monster

Dravokivich wrote: »

they didn't want people to rush

indeed: no point rushing there only to have to queue

PK2008

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

indeed: no point rushing there only to have to queue

Wait the Russians are involved??

Im really confused now

Sofiztikated

Ah, so they've almost found it. Good.

FFS, I could have told them where it was, bottom of the frigging sea. And they've spent, oh, months, deducing that?

Frigging scienticians. They ain't no Gil Grissom or Horatio Cain, I'll tell you that.

thetonynator

Correct me if i'm wrong, but how can you ''almost find something''???

You either find it or you don't - or else there is someone standing there shouting ''warmer'' when they get nearer and ''you're getting colder'' when they go further away.


In which case the thread title should read - ''Air France getting warmer'' . . .:rolleyes: !!!

Cookie_Monster

PK2008 wrote: »

Wait the Russians are involved??

they are organising the viewing of the expectation to the public

Kasabian

Don't Ryanair land Blackbox's miles from anywhere all the time.