Air France Crash Update : Black BOX Difficult to Find

Air France Crash Update : Black BOX Difficult to Find

Air France Crash has been searching by Military planes and ships which strugle in high sea and heavy winds on Wednesday. The Millitary still looking for Wreckage of an Air France jet in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, while an investigator said the plane's black boxes may never be found.

In Paris, the head of France's accident investigation agency, Paul-Louis Arslanian, said he was "not optimistic" that rescuers could even recover the plane's black boxes.

Arslanian said if rescuers don't find the black boxes, investigators should be prepared to continue the probe without them.

"I am not so optimistic. It is not only deep, it is also mountainous," he said. "We might find ourselves blocked at some point by the lack of material elements."

The reason for the crash remains unclear, with fierce thunderstorms, lightning or a catastrophic combination of causes as possible theories. France's defense minister and the Pentagon have said there were no signs that terrorism was involved.

The crew made no distress call before the crash, but the plane's system sent an automatic message just before it disappeared, reporting lost cabin pressure and electrical failure.

French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck said the naval recovery operation will start on the surface, then could turn to the use of submarines to help find the black boxes.

The effort is expected to be exceedingly challenging. Storm season is starting in the zone and low visibility hampered rescue efforts Tuesday. Water depths in the area sink down to 22,950 feet (7,000 meters).

ON the Field

Military planes and ships struggled through high seas and heavy winds Wednesday as they searched for the bobbing wreckage of an Air France jet in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, while an investigator said the plane's black boxes may never be found.

Rescue boats from several nations were sailing toward the site to start the recovery as aviation experts tried to determine why the plane carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on Sunday night ended up in the sea.

An airplane seat, a fuel slick, an orange lifevest and pieces of white debris were spotted Tuesday in the ocean about 400 miles (640 kilometers) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast.

The floating debris is spread out in two areas about 35 miles (60 kilometers) apart, not far off the flight path of Flight 447. Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said no bodies had been found and there was no signs of life.

Four boats and a tanker ship are en route to the scene but Brazil's lack of equipment to scour the ocean floor was a problem, a navy spokeswoman said Wednesday. Brazil was leading the search for wreckage, while France took charge of the crash investigation.

"The seas in the area are high, and that is slowing the arrival of our ships," she said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We have four divers on the way, but the first of them will not get to the scene until midday Thursday."

The official said if the black boxes are at the bottom of the sea — three miles deep in some nearby areas — there was nothing the Brazil navy could do as they do not have the special remotely controlled subs needed to withstand the pressure at the ocean's bottom.

"We'll really only be able to carry out recovery efforts on the surface of the sea," the official said. "If the black boxes have sunk, we don't have the equipment to look for them."

The black boxes — voice and data recorders — are built to last 30 days underwater.

The Air France with Prince Pedro Luis De Orleans E Braganca in, encountered heavy turbulence early Monday, about three hours after the jet left Rio de Janeiro for Paris on an 11-hour flight, according to Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.

source:listown.com

air france crash, air france bomb threat, air france crash passenger list, brazilian plane crash, air france crash