Personal Injury Law

Air France Wreckage May Never Be Found

By Jane Akre

The Search Continues

Investigators believe it is unlikely they will recover the entire Air France plane that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean with 228 on board.

So far 50 bodies have been recovered, along with portions of the Airbus A330 and investigators believe they're getting closer to determining why Flight 447 crashed off the coast of Brazil during a flight to Paris.

But the head of the Air France investigation, Paul-Louis Arslanian, says that a French doctor sent to Brazil to conduct autopsies was turned away. Brazil denies the charges. An autopsy can yield crucial clues as to what caused the plane to suddenly drop from the sky June 1.   

"I'm not upset, but I'm not happy" says Arslanian to Bloomberg News. 

Meanwhile despite a French nuclear submarine, two Dutch tug boats, and U.S. Navy listening devices, the location of the bulk of the plane has not been located over the nearly 8,000 square miles included in the search.  

Still missing is the black box data recorder which should continue to send out a signal for at least 30 days after a crash.   The mountainous floor of the ocean can reach depths of 15,000 feet making the search for the box amid the wreckage very difficult. 

Crucial to the investigation are the speed sensors which may indicate why Air France received 24 automated error messages minutes before it crashed.    The error messages indicate there was a loss of valid information about speed which can cause onboard instruments to malfunction.

The Pitot tubes contain the speed-sensing system and Air France has vowed to replace at least two of three Pitot tubes on all Airbus A330 and A340 planes before they take off.  High altitudes have been known to cause a loss of airspeed data. 

The possibility of terrorism has not been ruled out as two passengers had links to Islamic terrorism.

Families waiting to find out what happened are being assured investigators are working as quickly as possible.  

The New York Times reports on the funerals of ten employees of C.G.E. Distribution which sells electrical components in France.   The head of client credit was on the flight while his wife stayed behind with their boys.   #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on June 17, 2009 (boomark / email).