Article

2009-06-03 Caribbean-Latin America

Bomb threat on Air France Flight day before plane went missing

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Posted by Nick 2009-06-03 08:05|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 didn't Brazil capture an Al Qaeda operative and then release him for lack of evidence? If involved too bad a harsh interrogation session did not lead to saving 228 lives.

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=335910&CategoryId=14090

Posted by airandee 2009-06-03 09:37|| 2009-06-03 09:37|| Front Page Top

#2 Hopefully we will know something soon. The French gov't is retrieving debris for forensic analysis.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-06-03 09:53|| 2009-06-03 09:53|| Front Page Top

#3 The Brazilian gov't did just release him and I should hope they know where he is now! The tri-border area is a lawless region that has been mentioned as a staging area for attacks.

Posted by Nick 2009-06-03 10:01|| 2009-06-03 10:01|| Front Page Top

#4 Bomb threat was an intell gathering event. Call in a bomb threat, watch how they screen for it, note the failures. Execute withing a couple days. It wont matter if it was a bomb or not. The French will not call it a bombing.

Posted by 49 Pan 2009-06-03 11:01|| 2009-06-03 11:01|| Front Page Top

#5 Bomb threats are one thing, normally you get a dozen groups trying to take credit after the fact. I haven't heard any claims.

Posted by rjschwarz 2009-06-03 12:36|| 2009-06-03 12:36|| Front Page Top

#6 They may never know why it went down...

FERNANDO DE NORONHA, Brazil Military planes and ships struggled through high seas and heavy winds Wednesday and found more debris from an Air France jet, while an investigator said the black boxes may never be found in the depths of the Atlantic.

The recovery effort is expected to be exceedingly challenging. Storm season is starting in the are and water depths sink down to 22,950 feet.

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. If the black boxes have sunk, she said, "We don't have the equipment to look for them."

The sturdy black boxes voice and data recorders are built to give off signals for at least 30 days, even underwater, and could keep their contents indefinitely. Remotely controlled submersible craft will have to be used to recover wreckage settling so far beneath the ocean's surface.

France dispatched a research ship equipped with unmanned submarines that can explore as deeply as 19,600 feet (6,000 meters), but that ship and another French military ship were not expected to reach the area until the end of the week, French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck said.

In Paris, the head of France's accident investigation agency, Paul-Louis Arslanian, said he was "not optimistic" that rescuers could even recover the black boxes and investigators should be prepared to continue the probe without them. "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."

Posted by tu3031 2009-06-03 12:42|| 2009-06-03 12:42|| Front Page Top

#7 One, why isn't the U.S. involved in this? We certainly have military assets that could give a huge assist. There WERE Americans aboard that flight.

Two, I've been following airline discussions since 9/11. This website is particularly good for such discussions:

There are people on the board that actually fly the plane involved, and the number of scenarios that would cause such a catastrophic breakup at altitude (indicated by the spread out nature of the debris field) are slim, and slim's left the room.

This was a terror attack.

Posted by Mizzou Mafia 2009-06-03 14:01|| 2009-06-03 14:01|| Front Page Top

#8 Link function won't work for me. Here's for the cut-and-pasters: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/index.main?rand=877

Posted by Mizzou Mafia 2009-06-03 14:03|| 2009-06-03 14:03|| Front Page Top

#9 #7 One, why isn't the U.S. involved in this?......There WERE Americans aboard that flight.

Spent our AVGAS monthly allocation on "Date Night NYC." Besides, only wealthy, white Republicans fly Air France. Anyone heard so much as a statement of condolences from the White House? His staff is probably too busy drafting his WWII Dresden Germany bombing apology statements.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-06-03 14:17|| 2009-06-03 14:17|| Front Page Top

#10 what's up with all the Dresden talk lately? is it the anniv. ? How are things in Lagrange Besoeker?

Posted by funky skunk 2009-06-03 15:04|| 2009-06-03 15:04|| Front Page Top

#11 Skunk The Lightworker is going to Dresden Friday.

You in GA? Native of Lilburn here.

Posted by Beavis 2009-06-03 15:10|| 2009-06-03 15:10|| Front Page Top

#12 This doesn't add up. Ezeiza is the international airport for Buenos Aires not Rio.

Posted by Jack is Back!">Jack is Back! 2009-06-03 16:06|| 2009-06-03 16:06|| Front Page Top

#13 More Bulldog fans? Fred had better keep an eye on us, we'll be forming into regiments soon.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-06-03 16:16|| 2009-06-03 16:16|| Front Page Top

#14 If the black boxes can't be recovered, investigators will have to focus on maintenance records and a burst of messages sent by the plane just before it disappeared. Officials have released some details of these messages, but a more complete chronology was published Wednesday by Brazil's O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, citing an unidentified Air France source.

Air France and Brazilian military officials refused to confirm the report. But if accurate, it suggests that Flight 447 may have broken up thousands of feet in the air as it passed through a violent storm, experts told The Associated Press.

The report said the pilot sent a manual signal at 11 p.m. local time saying he was flying through an area of "CBs" black, electrically charged cumulo-nimbus clouds that come with violent winds and lightning. Satellite data has shown that towering thunderheads were sending 100 mph (160 kph) winds straight into the jet's flight path at that time.

Ten minutes later, the plane sent a burst of automatic messages, indicating the autopilot had disengaged, the "fly-by-wire" computer system had been switched to alternative power, and controls needed to keep the plane stable had been damaged. An alarm also sounded, indicating the deterioration of flight systems, according to the report.

Three minutes after that, more automatic messages indicated the failure of two other fundamental systems pilots use to monitor air speed, altitude and direction. Then, a cascade of other electrical failures in systems that control the main flight computer and wing spoilers.

The report repeats a detail previously released by Brazil's Air Force: that the last message came at 11:14 pm, indicating loss of air pressure and electrical failure. The newspaper said this could mean sudden de-pressurization, or that the plane was already plunging into the ocean.

Posted by tu3031 2009-06-03 16:33|| 2009-06-03 16:33|| Front Page Top

#15 An absolute nightmare. Thanks for the update TU. Brings back haunting memories of PanAm 103.

Posted by Besoeker 2009-06-03 16:44|| 2009-06-03 16:44|| Front Page Top

#16 Because it took 4 minutes to loose cabin air pressure, it am going w/ accident. Looks to me that the aircraft lost power. 3 minutes later, the craft lost stability control and 1 minute later the craft broke up in denser air.

Posted by ed 2009-06-03 18:33|| 2009-06-03 18:33|| Front Page Top

#17 I hope your right ed, I think if the French can not get to the flight data recorders that the US will step up to help. I would not be suprised if the US Navy is moving in that direction just in case the French request our support.

I'm trying to hover this new flying carpet...

Posted by 49 Pan 2009-06-03 18:52|| 2009-06-03 18:52|| Front Page Top

#18 It is sounding more and more like an accident.

Posted by DarthVader 2009-06-03 21:04|| 2009-06-03 21:04|| Front Page Top

23:58 Richard of Oregon
23:41 OldSpook
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23:29 European Conservative
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22:59 ed
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