New Signs That Plane Broke Up in Flight
Pastor Dale Morgan
June 11, 2009
*New Signs That Plane Broke Up in Flight*
By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON — Two pieces of evidence have emerged that lend new credence
to the theory that the Air France jet that crashed more than a week ago
broke up in flight.
The Brazilian Air Force released information on Tuesday night showing
that bodies from Flight 447 had been recovered from locations that were
more than 50 miles apart. And Airbus, the plane’s manufacturer, sent its
airline customers a bulletin saying a re-analysis of the stricken
plane’s last automatic transmissions reinforced the idea that many parts
malfunctioned, but that the parts that measure air speed may have failed
first.
A faulty air speed indicator could mislead pilots into flying faster
than the aircraft could withstand, or faster than it should be flown
into turbulence — two circumstances that could lead to the craft coming
apart in flight.
The theory will remain just that, however, until more evidence is
collected. The black boxes that contain data and voice recordings are
likely to be the key to resolving the mystery of what happened to the
plane, which was carrying 228 people. According to news service reports,
the French nuclear attack submarine Émeraude, with a crew of 72 men, has
joined two sonar-detecting surface vessels in the search for the boxes.
Each vessel is able to sweep a narrow strip of ocean for the “pings”
emitted by the boxes and audible for a distance of no more than three
miles under ideal conditions.
In its message sent to airlines this week, Airbus said that no data was
available beyond the automatic transmissions from the Air France jet,
but it appeared that the manufacturer was fitting those messages into a
scenario that began with the air speed problem. It said those messages
“indicate that there was unreliable air speed indication” and that that
situation was “consolidated” by messages indicating other failures that
would be consequences of such a failure.
The Web site of The Wall Street Journal, WSJ.com, first reported on the
Airbus bulletin.
Airbus evidently did not fit all the messages into a clear sequence. It
said one message showed a change of cabin pressure equal to an altitude
change of greater than 1,800 feet per minute “which remains to be
explained.” One explanation would be cabin depressurization.
Perhaps to reassure airlines, Airbus said the data did not suggest a
loss of the computerized instrument display, or the Air Data Inertial
Reference Unit, which helps planes locate their positions and which has
had problems on other A330s.
Long before the crash, Airbus had recommended that airlines replace
parts, called Pitot tubes, that scoop in air to help planes measure
their air speed. The company said in its new message that for now,
airlines could continue flying with older Pitot tubes.
The Federal Aviation Administration sometimes makes such manufacturer
recommendations mandatory, as air worthiness directives, but Laura J.
Brown, an agency spokeswoman, said “we don’t think we’re at the point
where we can issue an air worthiness directive.”
“We don’t have data to indicate an unsafe condition exists,” she said.
A Delta Air Lines spokeswoman, Betsey Talton, said Delta had replaced
the tubes on some models and was replacing them on its A330s, the model
in the accident.