Air France Flight 447 disaster

[Mobbme]

(CNN) -- A French passenger aircraft carrying 228 people has disappeared off the coast of Brazil, airline officials say.
A file photo shows an Air France jet on take off. Some 228 passengers are aboard the missing aircraft.

Air France told CNN the jet was traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris when contact was lost.

The airline said flight AF447 was carrying 216 passengers in addition to a crew of 12. The aircraft is listed as an Airbus A330.

State radio reported a crisis center was being set up at Charles de Gaulle where the plane had been due to land at 11.15 a.m. local time.

Reports said an air force search and rescue operation was underway around the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha, 365 kilometers (226 miles) off the mainland.

Today's day in age, something like this happens...

[Mobbme]

Fears for 228 as Air France jet vanishes - CNN.com

[SnowLeopard]

Today's day in age, something like this happens...

Well, one hopes for a good ending, but my question to you is what possibly makes you believe or hope that aircraft of this day and age should be immune from such occurances?
_____________________________________
("This is ridiculous! You're trying to tell me that a modern carrier got lost in the Pacific?"--Admiral to Captain after the Nimitz has returned from the past, (w,stte), "The Final Countdown")

[Chogy]

There are still large chunks of sky, especially in oceanic areas, where radar coverage is nonexistent, and voice position reports are still made on scratchy HF radios. Or if something catastrophic happened inflight, and all power is lost, there is another opportunity to lose both radio and transponder. If we haven't heard from them by now, sadly, it appears the worst may have happened.

[ChrisF202]

My guess is that the plane had some type of engine malfunction shortly after takeoff and crashed with no survivors.

Honestly, I am surprised it has been this long. We havent had a major airliner crash since Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612 crashed in the Ukraine in 2006 killing all 170 onboard. These things normally happen much more frequently.

[Chunder]

My guess is that the plane had some type of engine malfunction shortly after takeoff and crashed with no survivors.

If that was the case they would have been within radio range.

What is scary about it is that there is Nothing. No information at all. No radio Call, no distress signal... nothing. You would have expected at least something.

Catastrophic event?

[SnowLeopard]

Punch "airliner" and "disappeared" into Google and see how many recent events come up ...... and then tell me that an airliner disappearing in the modern age is unusual.

That airliner has only been missing for a few hours (news is now speculating a lightning strike).

We don't have constant track of aircraft, face it.
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("Request that you report your position, over. Report your position, over."--bomber command to the Vulcan that SPECTRE has hijacked, (w,stte), "Thunderball")

[Merlin]

This is the latest update from CNN a few minutes ago.


Missing Air France jet suffered electrical failure

Updated 4 min ago PARIS, France (CNN) -- An Air France plane feared to have crashed in the Atlantic with 228 people aboard reported electrical problems in stormy weather before it lost contact, the airline said Monday, describing the loss as a "catastrophe."

The Airbus A330-200 sent an automatic message signaling an electric circuit failure as it hit turbulence early in its 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told a news conference.

A Brazilian Air Force statement said Air France had related that the plane also suffered a pressure failure. ...

Former Airbus pilot John Wiley told CNN that speculation lightning had brought down the plane was likely to prove unfounded since most modern passenger aircraft were capable of withstanding direct strikes.

The last known contact with flight AF 337 -- carrying 126 men, 82 women, seven children and a baby, plus the crew -- was at 1:33 GMT Monday (8:33 p.m. Sunday ET), according to the Brazilian Air Force.

Brazil says it has launched two air force squadrons to hunt near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha in the Atlantic Ocean, 365 kilometers (226 miles) from its coast, although the plane vanished outside the country's radar coverage.

The Air Force said the jet was last logged flying at an altitude of 10,600 meters (35,000 feet) before contact was lost. When the plane failed to make further contact, Brazilian air controllers contacted their counterparts in Senegal. ...

[Merlin]

I watched on CNN TV Richard Quest was describing the time line, see below.

He was very puzzled about a 3-hour gap. This gap is from 0220 GMT when the plane failed to make scheduled radio contact, to 0530 GMT when Brazilian Air Force launched search. Before that, there was already a warning, at 0148 GMT when the plane disappeared from radar.

All these took place over the Atlantic Ocean.

Time line
2230 GMT Sunday Flight AF447 takes off from Rio's Airport do Galeao
0133 GMT Monday Plane makes last contact with Brazilian air traffic control
0148 GMT Plane disappears from radar
0220 GMT Plane fails to make scheduled radio contact
0530 GMT Brazilian Air Force launches search
0910 GMT Plane fails to make scheduled landing in Paris
Source: Brazilian Air Force

[Mobbme]

Well, one hopes for a good ending, but my question to you is what possibly makes you believe or hope that aircraft of this day and age should be immune from such occurances?
_____________________________________
("This is ridiculous! You're trying to tell me that a modern carrier got lost in the Pacific?"--Admiral to Captain after the Nimitz has returned from the past, (w,stte), "The Final Countdown")

Technology.

To lose ALL contact is not acceptable. There's absolutely no communication. Don't airplane's have phones in them?

[Deltacamelately]

People, its futile to debate whether modern technology can TOTALLY stop airliners from "disapperaring" or not at this juncture. We better pray for the lost souls and their dependents.

God Bless!

[Officer of Engineers]

Indeed, God Bless.

[Bigfella]

A tragic day for all the families. Thinking of them.

Somewhat disconcerting to have a modern Western-made aircraft simply drop out of the sky mid-flight. Others may know more, but I thought most serious incidents tend to be nearer takeoff or landing. I'm guessing Airbus will be sh1tting itself.

[Merlin]

This sighting is from another plane at the time of the radar disappearance.

Missing jet, debris sighted

2 Jun [StraitsTimes] RIO DE JANEIRO - BRAZILIAN media outlets are reporting that debris from the missing Air France passenger jet has been sighted floating on the Atlantic Ocean by the crew of a French freighter.
The Douce France is reported to be in the same area off the coast of Senegal where a Brazil TAM airline pilot was also reported to have seen a burning piece of wreckage, reported news.com.au.

According to media reports, Brazilian carrier TAM said the crew of one of its planes saw 'bright spots' on the surface of the ocean, reportedly around the same time that Air France Flight 447 disappeared from the radar. ...

[Shek]

Technology helps, but pilots are still human. If you want to read about how culture and human factors collide in the cockpit, there are chapters in these two books that discuss that.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer