Air France passenger jet drops off radar

[Slats7]

That's my point - aircraft are carefully designed and rigorously tested, but occasionally there is a circumstance that wasn't foreseen by the engineers, and the limits of a component suddenly become all too obvious.

In the case of AA 587 blame probably goes to both Airbus & AA.

 

[Blackadder]

As mentioned seems highly unlikely terrorism played a part, however in this day and age always a possibilty.
If my memory serves me correctly, the region the plane is reported to have disappeared from radar screens would also put it in the area ITCZ (Intertropical convergence zone), basically a coming together of the warm mosit air of the tropical areas N and S outh the Equator, and as such some of the most powerful storms.
If I had to lean one way or another, I would say weather related in some way (turbulence/lightning)

 

[Slats7]

Couple turned away from lost Air France flight | Herald Sun

A FRENCH couple tried in vain to get last-minute seats on the Air France flight that disappeared overnight but were turned away because it was full.

Amazing.

 

[superchris]

I hope that after every disaster air travel becomes somewhat safer.

For the survivors or those that perished??:shock:

 

[Slats7]

For the survivors or those that perished??:shock:

For everybody that travels after a crash.

 

[Grooba]

By whom? Most of the reports I'm seeing think it's pretty unlikely that the craft was downed by a bomb. The evidence from the telemetry seems to point to something other than an out-of-the-blue explosive decompression and disintegration.

The best synopsis so-far is on Reuters. I also recommend; if you have reasonable French; the coverage at lemonde.fr.

Fox and CNN have speculated terrorism, not ruling it out or in. Typical news reports really, take everything with a grain of salt till there is hard evidence.

Hearing now that it the flight dropped off the radar just after some data was sent back to Air France that they were heading through a huge lightning storm...

 

[opusman]

As mentioned seems highly unlikely terrorism played a part, however in this day and age always a possibilty.

With airport security what it is these days I would have thought the exact opposite - the chances these days of a plane being taken down mid-flight by terrorists is extremely remote, despite what the media would have us believe.

 

[NM]

Aircraft accidents are rarely due to a single cause. There are usually a number of factors that come together to create the circumstances that result in the accident. Lets hope that the causes can be identified and lessons learned so a similar situation can be avoided in the future.

 

[JohnK]

Very sad news. We take air travel for granted and it comes as a surprise, shock, when an event like this occurs. Condolences and deepest sympathies to the loved ones of those who perished.

RIP....

 

[Grooba]

Very sad news. We take air travel for granted and it comes as a surprise, shock, when an event like this occurs. Condolences and deepest sympathies to the loved ones of those who perished.

RIP....

Call me the eternal optimist but there is no official word that everyone onboard has perished. I know it's a super slim chance but I'm not going to give up hope till it's all official.

 

[winfred]

People are saying air travel is the safetest form of transport.

Statistically it may be the case but as a passenger I have no control over anything except for choosing the date of travel and the carrier.

I can drive my own car, avoid driving when weather is bad, learn defensive driving skills, etc.

I fly on average 25 times a year and I still have sweaty hands when on take-off and landing.

For the next few months I will probably sweat a bit more.

 

[samh004]

People are saying air travel is the safetest form of transport.

Statistically it may be the case but as a passenger I have no control over anything except for choosing the date of travel and the carrier.

Same for taking a bus or a train. Or a ferry.

I can drive my own car, avoid driving when weather is bad, learn defensive driving skills, etc.

But aren't there more hazards (being other drivers)?

I fly on average 25 times a year and I still have sweaty hands when on take-off and landing.

For the next few months I will probably sweat a bit more.

I'm going to be a bit nervous when I head to NZ later this month.

 

[mannej]

Condolences to all those aboard. I would think that with the little evidence available, a cause will not be found for a while.

samh004, the road does have more hazards then just other drivers, there are pedestrians, animals, snapped tree branches etc. There are times where you can not avoid the weather.

As for flying a 330, this accident (unless it unearths a serious design flaw), will not put me off flying these planes.

As with the aviation industry, these events may make it safer due to issues found in the investigation.

A sad day for aviation, RIP crew and passengers of AF447

 

[Walter Plinge]

Aircraft accidents are rarely due to a single cause. There are usually a number of factors that come together to create the circumstances that result in the accident. Lets hope that the causes can be identified and lessons learned so a similar situation can be avoided in the future.

Quite so. I've been watching Air Crash Investigation on National Geographic Channel - not a good idea really, when you're an air traveller. However it shows just that - air crashes have multiple causes, often going back months or years. Aviation has learned from past crashes although that it not much comfort if you're in the middle of the learning experience.

In a recent episode the root cause of a mid-air break up occured 22 years ealier.

 

[2muchplastic]

My thoughts and condolences to those affected by this, and also a hope for a speedy answer as to what happened.

Now while this event is truly tragic, I still don't have any qualms about getting on a plane at all right now (at least if I could - currently grounded but that's a story for another thread), in the same way that I would have no qualms about getting back in the car when you hear about the latest pile-up on the Bruce Highway, or a coach overturned somewhere.
Statistically speaking, the chances of dying in a road accident are low in Australia, around 0.015% per year (assuming 3000 fatalities per 20,000,000 population). And how many Australians died in aviation related accidents last year? Less than 100 I'll bet.

 

[Alanslegal]

At the 24hour or so mark and no sightings of any wreckage/debris or passengers yet As expected its going to be one slow, arduous task ahead, lets hope they can find something really soon.

 

[Slats7]

Search for missing Air France A330 flight AF447 | World News | News.com.au

DEBRIS floating on the Atlantic Ocean in the area where a missing Air France passenger jet is suspected of crashing has been sighted by crew on a French freighter, Brazilian media has reported.

Wreckage may have been found??

 

[Mal]

Do the life rafts on planes have GPS/Distress beacons?

 

[maninblack]

This interesting point from one news article I was reading.

Each black box is equipped with an underwater locator beacon that sends out an ultrasonic signal detectable by sonar and acoustical locating equipment, but for only 30 days. The problem is that the swath of the Atlantic Ocean where the plane appears to have gone down, located about 820 kilometres north-east of the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, has depths of 3,000 to 4,000 metres, making recovery of the black boxes difficult if not impossible. It is therefore conceivable that we may never know the reason flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the sea.

I hope they do find the cause, especially for the friends and relatives. Somehow we all need closure.

 

[NYCguy]

Wreckage may have been found??

That's what's Le Monde has been saying for about an hour.

The Brazilian Air Force has found what appears to be pieces of a large aircraft (including, apparently, airline seats) floating offshore in the approximate vicinity of where the flight is believed to have gone down, but nothing is confirmed yet. With dozens of aircraft plummeting into the Atlantic every week, they might not be sure it's AF 447 (rolls eyes).