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{{Infobox Airliner accident
{{Infobox Airliner accident
| name = Air France Flight 447
| name = Air France Flight 447
| image = Airfrance fgzch a330200 1.jpg
| image = Jury_dutyposter.jpg
| caption = Air France Airbus A330-200 aircraft, similar to that of Flight 447
| caption = Air France Airbus A330-200 aircraft, similar to that of Flight 447
| plane2_image =
| plane2_image =

Revision as of 19:06, 10 June 2009

Template:Fixbunching

Air France Flight 447
Air France Airbus A330-200 aircraft, similar to that of Flight 447
Accident
Date1 June 2009 (2009-06)
SummaryUnder investigation
SiteAtlantic Ocean[1]
4°N 30°W / 4°N 30°W / 4; -30 (approximate)
Aircraft typeAirbus A330-200
OperatorAir France
RegistrationF-GZCP
Flight originRio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport
DestinationParis-Charles de Gaulle Airport
Passengers216
Crew12
Fatalities228
Survivors0[2]

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Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France that crashed 1 June 2009 over the Atlantic Ocean, with the confirmed loss of all 228 people onboard.[3]

The aircraft, an Air France Airbus A330-200, took off on 31 May 2009 at 19:03 local time (22:03 UTC). The last contact with the crew was a routine message to Brazilian air traffic controllers at 01:33 UTC, as the aircraft approached the edge of Brazilian radar surveillance over the Atlantic Ocean, en-route to Senegalese-controlled airspace off the coast of West Africa. Forty minutes later, a four-minute-long series of automatic radio messages was received from the plane, indicating numerous problems and warnings. The exact meanings of these messages are still under investigation, but the aircraft is believed to have been lost shortly after it sent the automated messages.[4] After the aircraft failed to contact air traffic control on either continent, a search for it was initiated.

On 6 June, two bodies and debris from the aircraft were found 680 miles (1260 km) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast. The debris included a briefcase containing an airline ticket later confirmed to have been issued for the flight.[5] 39 more bodies have been found since, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to 41.[6] This incident is the deadliest in the history of Air France, surpassing the crash of an Air France charter flight from Paris-Orly Airport to Atlanta on 3 June 1962, and the airline's first fatal crash since Air France Flight 4590.[7][8] Paul-Louis Arslanian, the head of the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA, Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety), described the incident as the worst accident in French aviation history.[9] It was also the first incident in commercial service resulting in fatalities in the 16-year operating history of the Airbus A330.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A330-200, powered by two General Electric CF6-80E1 engines.[10] The manufacturer's serial number was 660, and the French aircraft registration was F-GZCP.[10] The first flight of the aircraft was on 25 February 2005 and at the time of the accident it had flown for 18,870 hours.[10] On 17 August 2006, F-GZCP was involved in a ground collision with Airbus A321-211 F-GTAM at Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris. F-GTAM was substantially damaged and F-GZCP suffered minor damage.[11] F-GZCP underwent a major overhaul on 16 April 2009.[12] Between 5 May 2009 and 31 May the aircraft made 24 flights from Paris to and from 13 different destinations worldwide.[13]

Disappearance

Template:Air France Flight 447/flight path The aircraft departed from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport on 31 May 2009 at 19:03 local time (22:03 UTC), with a scheduled arrival at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport approximately 11 hours later.

The last verbal contact with the aircraft was at 01:33 UTC, when it was near waypoint INTOL (1°21′39″S 32°49′53″W / 1.36083°S 32.83139°W / -1.36083; -32.83139) located 565 km (305 miles) off Brazil's north-eastern coast. The crew reported that they expected to use UN873 airway and enter Senegalese-controlled airspace at waypoint TASIL (4°0′18″N 29°59′24″W / 4.00500°N 29.99000°W / 4.00500; -29.99000) within 50 minutes, and that the aircraft was flying normally at flight level 350 (a nominal altitude of 35,000 ft (11,000 m)*) and at a speed of 467 knots (865 km/h; 537 mph) (Mach 0.78).[14][15][16] The aircraft left Brazil Atlantic radar surveillance at 01:48 UTC.

Automated messages

According to an Air France spokesperson, “the aircraft sent a series of electronic messages over a three-minute period, which represented about a minute of information. Exactly what that data means hasn't been sorted out, yet”.[17] According to an aviation safety expert, “complete failure would require 100% failure of the electrical system,” which “did not happen early in the flight, because the system was uplinking data to the maintenance facility, indicating there was some electricity on the airplane.” [18]

The messages, sent from an onboard maintenance system Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) were made public on 4 June 2009.[19] These transcripts indicate that between 02:10 UTC and 02:14 UTC 5 failure reports (FLR) and 19 warnings (WRN) were transmitted.[20][21] The messages resulted from equipment failure data, captured by a built-in system for testing and reporting, and cockpit warning also posted to ACARS.[22] The failures and warnings in the 5 minutes of transmission concerned navigation auto-flight, flight controls, and cabin air-handling (codes beginning with 34, 22 , 37 and 21, respectively).[23]

The twelve warning messages with the 02:10 UTC time code indicate that the autopilot and auto-thrust system had disengaged, that the TCAS was in fault mode, and flight mode went from 'normal law' to 'alternate law'.[24][25] The remainder of the messages occurred from 02:11 UTC to 02:14 UTC containing a fault message for an Air Data Inertial Reference Unit (ADIRU) and the Integrated Standby Instrument System (ISIS).[25][26] At 02:12 UTC a warning message NAV ADR DISAGREE indicated that there was a disagreement between the independent air data systems. At 02:13 UTC a fault message for the flight management guidance and envelope computer was sent.[27] One of the two final messages transmitted at 02:14 UTC at location 3°34′40″N 30°22′28″W / 3.5777°N 30.3744°W / 3.5777; -30.3744.[28][29][30] was a warning referring to the air data reference system, the other ADVISORY (Code 213100206) was a "cabin vertical speed warning".

Weather conditions

East-west cross-section across of part of Atlantic Ocean in which Air France Flight 447 crashed showing depth of the sea floor. The vertical scale is exaggerated for contrast purposes.

A meteorological analysis of the area surrounding the flight path, showed a mesoscale convective system extending to an altitude of around 50,000 feet (15 km; 9.5 mi) above the Atlantic Ocean before Flight 447 disappeared.[31]

According to commercial transport pilots familiar with the route, it is likely that the flight crew of the Air France aircraft was aware of the intensity of the storm in the flight path at that altitude long before actually encountering the thunderstorms. [citation needed] Currently the NTSB (National Tranport Safety Board) are questioning Air France authorities who gave the clearance to fly.[citation needed] [The NTSB has no formal authority to question any aviation matter. The NTSB issues recommendations based on presumed impartial investigation and analysis and nothing more. The pilot-in-command makes the ultimate decision to fly and, in conjunction with air traffic control advisories derived from weather radar and real-time PIREPS, makes the informed choice to continue flight or turn around]. From satellite images taken near the time of the incident, it appears that the aircraft encountered a severe thunderstorm, likely containing hail and extreme turbulence.[32][Turbulence is classed as Light, Moderate or Severe. Had AF447 really encountered "severe" turbulence and/or "severe" thunderstorms they would have radioed this PIREP to Atlantico FIR and also Air France and requested a diversion around the severe weather. They did not. All the crew reported was turbulence of insufficient severity to request course change; i.e., moderate]

Detailed analysis of the weather conditions for the flight makes it clear that the aircraft's final 12 minutes were spent "flying through significant turbulence and thunderstorm activity for about 75 miles (140 km)", subject to turbulence and rime icing, possibly to clear ice or graupel.[31] Satellite imagery loops from the CIMSS clarify that the flight was coping with a series of storms, not just one.[33]

Commercial air transport crews routinely encounter this type of storm in this area. Generally, according to pilots familiar with this route, when storms of this type are encountered, a course either circumnavigating the storm or diverting to weaker portions of the storm is normally taken.[citation needed]

In this instance, shortly after the last verbal contact was made with Air Traffic Control about 350 miles (650 km) north-east of Natal, Brazil (station identifier SBNT) the aircraft likely traversed an area of intense deep convection which had formed within a broad band of thunderstorms along the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).[34] Turbulence in the vicinity of these rapidly-developing storms may have contributed to the accident.[31][33][35][36]

Another 12 flights operated through the same area on the same or similar route, as AF447 at the time of the accident, without reporting any weather problems.[37]

Search and recovery

Colour bathymetry relief map of the part of Atlantic Ocean into which Air France Flight 447 crashed. Image shows two different data sets with different resolution.[Note 1]

Initial search and reports

Brazilian air traffic controllers contacted air traffic control in Dakar at 02:20 UTC, when they noticed that the plane had not made the required radio call signaling its crossing into Senegalese airspace.[14] The Brazilian Air Force then began a search and rescue operation from the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha,[14] and at 19:00 UTC on 1 June, Spain sent a CASA 235 maritime patrol plane in search and rescue operations near Cape Verde.[38] French reconnaissance planes were also dispatched, including one Breguet Atlantic from Dakar,[39] and the French requested satellite equipment from the United States to help find the plane.[40] Brazilian Air Force spokesperson Colonel Henry Munhoz told Brazilian TV that radar on Cape Verde failed to pick up the aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean.[14]

Early on, officials with Air France and the French government presumed that the plane had been lost with no survivors. An Air France spokesperson told L'Express that there was "no hope for survivors,"[41][42][43] and French President Nicolas Sarkozy told relatives of the passengers that there was only a "minimal" chance that anyone survived.[40]

Late on 1 June, the deputy chief of the Brazilian Aeronautical Communications Center, Jorge Amaral, confirmed that 30 minutes after the Air France Airbus had emitted the automatic report, a commercial pilot had reported the sighting of "orange dots" in the middle of the Atlantic, which could indicate the glow of wreckage on fire.[44][45] This sighting was reported by a TAM Airlines crew flying from Europe to Brazil, at approximately 1300 km (700 miles) from Fernando de Noronha.[44][45] Another similar sighting of "something flashing brightly over the ocean then taking a descending vertical trajectory" was reported by the Spanish pilot of Air Comet Flight 974[46] flying from Lima to Madrid. The Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported that wreckage debris was discovered off the Senegalese coast, but that its origin was still uncertain.[47] EarthTimes and news.com.au reported that the crew of the French freighter Douce France spotted debris floating on the ocean in the area earlier indicated by the TAM crew.[48][49]

Aerial search, ships dispatched

File:Busca voo Air France 447 1.jpg
The crew of a C-130 Hercules (Brazilian Air Force) searches for wreckage from the Airbus A330 of Air France Flight 447, while flying at low level 650 km (350 miles) north of Fernando de Noronha islands.
(3 June 2009)

At 15:20 (UTC) on 2 June, the Brazilian Air Force, using an Embraer R-99, found wreckage and signs of oil and jet fuel strewn along a 5 km (3 mi) band 650 km (400 mi) north-east of Fernando de Noronha Island, near Saint Peter and Paul Rocks. Spotted wreckage included a plane seat, an orange buoy, a barrel, "white pieces and electrical conductors".[50] Later that day, after meeting with relatives of the Brazilians on the aircraft, Brazilian Defence Minister Nelson Jobim announced that the Air Force believed the wreckage was from Flight 447.[51][52] Brazilian vice-president José Alencar (acting as president since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was out of the country) declared three days of official mourning.[53][54]

On 2 June, two French Navy vessels, Foudre and Ventôse, were en route to the suspected crash site. Also among the ships sent to the site was the French research vessel Pourquoi Pas?, equipped with two mini-submarines that can descend to 6,000 m (20,000 ft)[55] – the area of the Atlantic in which the plane went down may be as deep as 4,700 m (15,400 ft).[56] A United States Navy Lockheed Martin P3 Orion MR submarine-hunting aircraft was also deployed in the search due to its low altitude endurance and patrol capability, sonar and magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) sensor suite.[57]

On 3 June, the first Brazilian Navy ship, the patrol boat NPa Grajaú, reached the area in which the first debris was spotted. The Brazilian Navy has sent a total of five ships to the debris site; the frigate F Constituição and the corvette Cv Caboclo were scheduled to reach the area on 4 June, the frigate F Bosísio on 6 June and the replenishment oiler NT Almirante Gastão Motta on 7 June.[58][59]

On 5 June, French defence minister Hervé Morin announced that the nuclear submarine Émeraude was being sent to the area, to assist in the search for the missing flight recorders which might be located at great depth.[60] The submarine will use its powerful listening devices to search for the homing signal broadcast by the black boxes.[61]

Conflicting debris reports

On 4 June the Brazilian Air Force claimed they had recovered the first debris from the Air France crash site, 340 miles (630 km) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago.[62]

On 5 June, around 13:00 UTC, Brazilian officials announced that they had not, in fact, recovered anything from Flight 447, as the oil slick and debris field found on 2 June could not have come from the plane.[63] Ramon Borges Cardoso, director of the Air Space Control Department, said that the fuel slicks were not caused by aviation fuel but were believed to have been from a passing ship.[64] Even so, a Brazilian Air Force official maintained that some of the material that had been spotted (but not picked up) were in fact from Flight 447. Poor visibility, however, had prevented search teams from re-locating the material.[65]

Bodies, debris recovered

File:Air France Flight 447 Empennage removal 2.jpg
Recovery of Flight 447's vertical-stabilizer and rudder assembly by the Brazilian Navy.

On 6 June, five days after Flight 447 first disappeared, it was reported that the Brazilian Air Force had located both "bodies and debris" from the missing aircraft, after they had been spotted by a special search radar-equipped aircraft.[66] The bodies and objects were reportedly found at 08:14 Brasilia time (11:14 UTC), and experts on human remains were sent to investigate. Brazilian Air Force Colonel Jorge Amaral stated that "We confirm the recovery from the water of debris and bodies from the Air France plane. Air France boarding passes for Flight 447 were also found. We can't give more information without confirming what we have."[67] Later it was confirmed that two male bodies were found along with a seat, a nylon backpack containing a computer and vaccination card and a leather briefcase containing a boarding pass for the Air France flight.[68][69][70]

Authorities also corrected the misunderstanding about earlier debris findings: except for the wooden pallet, the debris did come from Flight 447, but rescue aircraft and ships had made the search for possible survivors and bodies a priority, delaying the verification of the origins of the other recovered debris.[71] As of 9 June 2009 a total of 24 bodies had been recovered.[72] The first 24 bodies have been transported to shore. On the evening of 9 June 2009 Lieutenant Brigadier Ramon Cardoso of the Brazilian military reported that the total number of bodies recovered had risen to 41. Sixteen of those had already been brought to the islands of Fernando de Noronha and a further 25 were on board the frigate Bosísio, which is now heading for Fernando de Noronha.[73]

On 8 June search crews found and eventually recovered the Airbus's vertical stabilizer.[72]

Passenger and crew details

People at the Air France counter at the Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport (15:38, 1 June 2009)

A list containing the nationalities of the passengers onboard was released by Air France on 1 June 2009.[74] A partial list containing 75 named crew and passengers on board the plane was released on 3 June 2009.[75]

The aircraft was carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members in two cabins of service.[82][83] Three pilots were amongst the crew. Among the 216 passengers were one baby, seven children, 82 women, and 126 men.[14] 58-year-old flight captain Marc Dubois, who joined Air France in 1988, had approximately 11,000 flight hours, with 1,700 hours on an Airbus A330. The two co-pilots, 37-year-old David Robert and 32-year-old Pierre-Cedric Bonin, had over 9,000 flight hours between them. Of the twelve crew members, eleven were French and one was Brazilian.[84][85]

According to an official list made public by Air France, most of the passengers were French, Brazilian, and German citizens.[86][87] In addition to this, there were some passengers on this flight who may have held multiple citizenship.[Note 2]

Notable passengers

Passengers included Prince Pedro Luís of Orléans-Bragança, third in line of succession to the extinct throne of Brazil.[88][89] He had dual Brazilian-Belgian citizenship. He was returning home to Luxembourg from a visit to his relatives in Rio de Janeiro.[90][91] Other passengers included Silvio Barbato, composer and former conductor of the Symphony Orchestras of the Brasilia National Theatre and the Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theatre. [92][93] Fatma Ceren Necipoğlu, a Turkish classical harpist and academic of Anadolu University in Eskişehir, was also on board; she was returning home via Paris after having given concerts at the fourth Rio Harp Festival. [94]

Two passengers with names similar to those with links to Islamic terrorism were also onboard the Air France flight. French intelligence services established the connection while working through the list of passengers who boarded the aircraft. The names are similar but the connection is not confirmed due to lack of information on dates of birth.[95]

Investigation

Coronel Jorge Amaral, deputy head of the Aeronautical Communications Center of the Brazilian Air Force, discussing the search for the aircraft.

The cause of the crash remains unknown. The Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) is tasked with the official investigation.[96] BEA chief Paul-Louis Arslanian said that he is not optimistic about finding the plane's flight recorders, since they may be under as much as 3,000 m (9,800 ft) of water and the terrain under this portion of the ocean is very rugged.[97] Investigators are hoping to find the aircraft's tail, since the black box is located there. [98] Although France has never recovered a black box from similar depths,[97] there is precedent for such an operation: in 1988, an independent contractor was able to recover the cockpit voice recorder of South African Airways Flight 295 from a depth of 4,900 m (16,100 ft) in a search area of between 80 and 250 square nautical miles (270 and 860 km2).[99][100] The black box contains a water-activated acoustic "pinger" which should remain active for 30 days, allowing search for the location of the signal origin. On 8 Jun the U.S. Navy flew two Towed Pinger Locators, which can detect the pinger beacons to a depth of 6,100 m (20,000 ft), to Brazil for use by two French ships. The French vessels would then use the locators to listen for transmissions from the black box.[101]

The BEA released a press release on 5 June, which stated: [102]

A large quantity of more or less accurate information and attempts at explanations concerning the accident are currently being circulated. The BEA reminds those concerned that in such circumstances, it is advisable to avoid all hasty interpretations and speculation on the basis of partial or non-validated information.

At this stage of the investigation, the only established facts are:

  • the presence near the airplane’s planned route over the Atlantic of significant convective cells typical of the equatorial regions;
  • based on the analysis of the automatic messages broadcast by the plane, there are inconsistencies between the various speeds measured.
— Press release 5 June 2009 - Flight AF 447 on 31 May 2009 , in BEA

Two areas are of interest in the investigation, a bomb threat and an inconsistency of the measurement of the airspeed.

Bomb threat

On 27 May, several days prior to this incident, Air France received a telephoned bomb threat regarding an earlier flight from Buenos Aires in Argentina to Paris. Authorities at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires delayed the flight before take-off while conducting a 90-minute search of the threatened aircraft; passengers remained on the plane throughout. The search conducted by authorities yielded no explosive material, so the authorities allowed the flight to depart.[103] Investigators are examining links with Air France Flight 447.[104] On 3 June, the French ecology minister in charge of transport, Jean-Louis Borloo, was reported to have said that there was no indication that a bomb caused the loss of Flight 447.[105] No one has claimed responsibility for any attack on the aircraft.

Airspeed inconsistency

Prior to the disappearance of the aircraft, the automatic reporting system, ACARS, sent messages indicating disagreement in the indicated air speed (IAS) readings. A spokesperson for Airbus claimed that "the air speed of the aircraft was unclear" to the pilots.[60] Paul-Louis Arslanian, of France's air accident investigation agency, confirmed that F-GZCP previously had problems calculating its speed as did other A330 aircraft stating "We have seen a certain number of these types of faults on the A330 ... There is a programme of replacement, of improvement".[106]

Diagram of a pitot/static probe that uses a transducer to indicate pressure created by airspeed

The airspeed is presented to pilots on the Primary Flight Display (PFD) are derived from pitot and static probes, which measure the pressure of the air that passes around the plane. That pneumatic information is then converted to numerical data by the Air Data Modules (ADMs), and then fed into the ADIRU units, which supply the numbers to the pilots on their respective PFDs.[24] The Air Data Reference (ADR) part of the ADIRU supplies barometric altitude, speed, Mach, angle of attack, temperature and warnings for too much speed. The Inertial Reference (IR) part of the ADIRU, supplies attitude, flight path vector, track, heading, accelerations, angular rates, ground speed, vertical speed and the position of the plane.[24]

There are several incidences in which miscalculation of airspeed led to flight incidences or crashes. One specific event mentioned was an Air France A340-300 (F-GLZL) on level flight at FL310 (~31000 ft/9450 m) from Japan to France, in which airspeed was incorrectly reported and autopilot automatically disengaged. Later, the drainage holes of all three pitot tubes had been found clogged. Weather and obstructed drainage holes were implicated in the cause of the incident.[107] In the second incident, an Air France A340-300 (F-GLZN) enroute to New York encountered turbulence followed by the autoflight systems going offline, warnings over the accuracy of the reported airspeed and two minutes of stall alerts.[107] Investigations of accidents with other aircraft type involved Pitot tube malfunction. The air accident investigation of Austral Flight 2553 (DC-9) concluded that ice accumulation on the pitot tube during a high-altitude thunderstorm caused the indicated airspeed reading to be erroneously low, and that the pilots attempted to compensate by increasing the speed – exceeding the maximum safe cruising speed – and extending high-lift devices (such as slats and flaps), causing loss of control of the plane, which subsequently crashed with the loss of all 74 onboard.[108] Clogged Pitot tubes also are suspected as the cause in the failure of a Birgenair Boeing 757.

On 6 June 2009, Arslanian said that Air France had not replaced pitot probes as Airbus recommended on F-GZCP during its last major overhaul, saying that "it does not mean that without replacing the probes that the A330 was dangerous."[109] The problems primarily occurred on the Airbus A320, but, awaiting a recommendation from Airbus, Air France delayed installing new pitots on A330/A340 yet increased inspection frequencies.[109] Air France issued further clarification of the situation after the nature of the Pitot tube service bulletin was incorrectly interpreted:

"1) Malfunctions in the pitot probes on the A320 led the manufacturer to issue a recommendation in September 2007 to change the probes. This recommendation also applies to long-haul aircraft using the same probes and on which a very few incidents of a similar nature had occurred."

Since it was not an airworthiness directive (AD) the guidelines allow the operator to apply the recommendations at its discretion. However Air France implemented the change on its A320 fleet where the incidences of water ingress were observed.

"2) Starting in May 2008 Air France experienced incidents involving a loss of airspeed data in flight (see two incidences above) in cruise phase on A340s and A330s. These incidents were analysed with Airbus as resulting from pitot probe icing for a few minutes, after which the phenomenon disappeared."

After discussing these with the manufacturer, Air France sought a means of reducing these incidents, and Airbus indicated that the new pitot probe designed for the A320 was not designed to prevent cruise level ice-over. However in 2009 tests suggested that the new probe could improve its reliability prompting Air France to initiate and accelerate the replacement program[110], however not before F-GZCP underwent its major overhaul on April 16.

The problem created by faulty indicated airspeed increases with altitude, particularly for aircraft with relatively high weight loads. The term coffin corner is used to describe the dangerous portion in the flight envelope when the stall speed comes close to the critical Mach and can lead to a loss of control of the aircraft. Managing aircraft velocity is particularly important for pilots navigating thunderstorms at high altitude: not enough speed and the plane can lose lift and stall or lose altitude; too much speed and the aircraft can suffer damage or even break up. French Transport Minister, Dominique Bussreau, said "Obviously the pilots [of Flight 447] did not have the right speed showing, which can lead to two bad consequences for the life of the aircraft: under-speed, which can lead to a stall, and over-speed, which can lead to the aircraft breaking up because it is approaching the speed of sound and the structure of the plane is not made for resisting such speeds".[111] On 4 June, Airbus issued an Accident Information Telex to operators of all Airbus models reminding pilots of the recommended Abnormal and Emergency Procedures to be taken in the case of unreliable airspeed indication.[112]

Flight AF 447 has some parallels with incidents involving A330 aircraft flown by other carriers. Three similar reports are on file at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), with two incidents relating to Airbus A330 with the flight computer problems, plus one which involved a Boeing 777.[Note 3][113] In the October 2008 incident, this fault caused injuries to passengers and damage to the aircraft on Qantas Flight 72, en route from Singapore to Perth, Western Australia, which was forced into a dive by a malfunctioning ADIRU. These incidents often started with the autopilot disengaging and sending ADIRU failure messages. Incorrect speed indications were also observed.[113] The type of airframe and model of ADIRU involved in the QF 72 incident were also previously involved in another incident on Qantas Flight 68. Pitot probe malfunction was not a factor in the Qantas 72 incident.[citation needed] A memo leaked from Airbus suggests that there was no evidence of ADIRU malfunction similar to the failure in the Qantas incidents[114]

Memorials

On 3 June 2009, an interfaith ecumenical memorial service for family and friends of the victims, organised by Air France,[115] was held at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.[116][117] Roman Catholic, Protestant Christian, Muslim, Orthodox Christian, and Jewish clergy attended the service. Among them were the Archbishop of Paris, André Vingt-Trois; Grand Rabbi and Jewish Chaplain of Air Personnel, Haïm Korsia; French Council of the Muslim Faith president, Mohammed Moussaoui; and Protestant Federation of France president, Claude Baty. Uniformed Air France crew members also attended. [115] The service concluded with a reading of the poem "Footprints in the Sand" (Portuguese: "Passos sobre a areia"), attributed on the Air France site to the Brazilian poet Ademar de Barros. Members of the press were forbidden from attending the ceremony. An audio feed was broadcast to the square outside of the cathedral.[118] Pope Benedict XVI offered his sincere condolences and an apostolic blessing to the victims' families and loved ones in a message sent to the French apostolic nunciature via telegram by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone;[119] the message was read at the service.

A mass was held in memory of the victims at Candelária Church in the center of Rio de Janeiro on 4 June. More than 500 people were reported to have attended.[120]

Notes

  1. ^ The areas showing detailed bathymetry were mapped using multibeam bathymetry sonar. The areas showing very generalised bathymetry were mapped using high-density satellite altimetry.
  2. ^ Numbers in parentheses indicate reports that contradict the official Air France manifest and can probably be attributed to a passenger being a national of more than one country.
  3. ^ Malaysia Airlines 9M-MRG, 1 August 2005, Boeing 777-200; Qantas Flight 68 on 12 September 2006, Airbus A330-300; Qantas Flight 72 7 October 2008, Airbus A330-300; Qantas Flight 71 27 December 2008, Airbus A330-300

References

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  3. ^ "Aviation Safety Network - Accident description". Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  4. ^ "Air France Says 'No Hope' For Missing Jetliner". National Public Radio. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
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  12. ^ "JACDEC Special accident report Air France Flight 447". Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
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  15. ^ "Brazilian ministry details last track of missing Air France A330".
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  17. ^ "Concerns over recovering AF447 recorders". Aviation Week. Aviation Week. 3 June 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
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  20. ^ http://jt.france2.fr/20h/
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