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Cause of air crash to remain a mystery
Source: Agencies |
December 14, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FRENCH investigators are unlikely to establish the exact cause of a fatal Atlantic plane crash in a report this week but may recommend ways to help locate black boxes more easily, according to insiders.
France's BEA accident investigation authority is due on Thursday to issue its final report into the Air France crash in which 228 people died.
Flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic on June 1 after flying into stormy weather.
The "black box" flight recorders remain missing and only small parts of the wreckage of the Airbus A330 have been found.
"I don't expect much new concrete information on the cause of the crash," one insider said.
Responsibility
A second source agreed, saying the report would add little to an inconclusive preliminary report issued in July.
That report identified problems in handing responsibility for the aircraft between controllers but said it was too early to say what caused the plane to hit the ocean.
Speculation has focused on possible icing of the aircraft's speed sensors, which appeared to give inconsistent readings and may have disrupted other systems.
Safety authorities ordered checks on the sensors known as "pitot probes" and restricted the use of the type installed on the plane.
But investigators are not expected to pin the blame on any one issue. Instead, the BEA is expected to make recommendations on general aircraft safety, the source said.
These include extending the life of locator beacons attached to the flight recorders to 90 days from 30 days and to have further beacons attached to important parts of the aircraft structure to assist in locating wreckage in the event of a crash.
France's BEA accident investigation authority is due on Thursday to issue its final report into the Air France crash in which 228 people died.
Flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic on June 1 after flying into stormy weather.
The "black box" flight recorders remain missing and only small parts of the wreckage of the Airbus A330 have been found.
"I don't expect much new concrete information on the cause of the crash," one insider said.
Responsibility
A second source agreed, saying the report would add little to an inconclusive preliminary report issued in July.
That report identified problems in handing responsibility for the aircraft between controllers but said it was too early to say what caused the plane to hit the ocean.
Speculation has focused on possible icing of the aircraft's speed sensors, which appeared to give inconsistent readings and may have disrupted other systems.
Safety authorities ordered checks on the sensors known as "pitot probes" and restricted the use of the type installed on the plane.
But investigators are not expected to pin the blame on any one issue. Instead, the BEA is expected to make recommendations on general aircraft safety, the source said.
These include extending the life of locator beacons attached to the flight recorders to 90 days from 30 days and to have further beacons attached to important parts of the aircraft structure to assist in locating wreckage in the event of a crash.
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