Two Years later, Wreckage of Air France 447 located in the Atlantic Ocean

[NYCA News]

NYCAviation:

Two Years later, Wreckage of Air France 447 located in the Atlantic Ocean (http://nycaviation.com/2011/04/two-years-later-wreckage-of-air-france-447-located-in-the-atlantic-ocean/)

The wreckage of Air France flight 447 was found in the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, nearly two years after the Airbus A330-200 went missing during a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
[Click to Read Full Article (http://nycaviation.com/2011/04/two-years-later-wreckage-of-air-france-447-located-in-the-atlantic-ocean/)]

[Speedbagel_001]

Even if they do find the black box, which would be great, after 2 years in the ocean won't the data be unreadable anyway?

[Derf]

it depends on who you ask.... I would guess about a 50/50 if it is intact. It is solid state and like a USB stick, can go thru quite a bit. It is made to be in a pool of burning jet fuel for while. It is protected very well for impact. I personally think at least one of two will be readable, Actually... I will call that they will both be readable. my $.02

P.S. do you know how many times my usb has made it thru the wash intact.....and that is cheap plastic and never lost data...Now if you unplug a usb while it is being written too...your screwed. But that is why CVR's and CDR's have backup power....oh, and to keep recording after power is lost. This ain't your grandfathers magnetic tape anymore folks! :wink:

[RomNYC]

That is good news. Time to understand what caused AF's largest tragedy ever. Can't believe it has been 2 years...

[Spunker]

amazing photos. I'm sure there are alot more but they can't show them. Hopefully some more relatives can gets some closure on this tragedy.

[yankees368]

Not sure if this article is current, but it's on CNNs homepage:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/04/13/france.jet.tail.found/index.html?hpt=T2

Tail of Air France jet found in Atlantic

Search teams have found the tail section of Air France Flight 447, two years after the jet plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, victims' families say.

Robert Soulas, whose daughter and son-in-law were killed in the 2009 crash, told CNN he and other relatives of the 228 who died were given the news at a meeting with the French air accident investigation agency (BEA) in Paris.

Agency head Jean Paul Troadec told the families the piece of wreckage included the area where the flight data recorders should be, but he could not confirm whether they had been found.

Even if the "black boxes" are recovered, experts say there is no guarantee they will still work, after so long under water.

"Pressure and corrosion have likely damaged the wreckage, especially as it has been down there for so long," said David Learmount, of Flight International.

"Flight recorders are not designed to withstand pressures of the depths that this aircraft actually went to."

All 228 passengers and crew on board Air France Flight 447 were killed when the plane disappeared on its way from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Paris, France, on June 1, 2009.

The Airbus A330's pilots lost contact with air traffic controllers while flying across an area of the Atlantic Ocean known for its storms and turbulence.

But exactly what caused the plane to plunge into the sea has remained a mystery, with only small portions of the wreckage and a handful of bodies found in the remote area where it went down.

The BEA says the Ile de Sein, the ship charged with leading efforts to recover the jet's remains, is set to leave Cape Verde for the crash site on April 21.

Soulas, the vice president of a support group for victims' families, said he and others in his group were disappointed that relatives had not been invited to join the latest recovery operation.

"I'm frustrated because we really wanted to have someone on board, especially as this is not just a question of retrieving parts of the plane, they will also be retrieving bodies," he told CNN.

Soulas has previously called for the bodies of those killed in the crash to be left on the sea bed, rather than brought to the surface, which he fears will reopen old wounds for the bereaved.

CNN's Saskya Vandoorne contributed to this report

[Derf]

I have friends who are crash investigators.....I do not care what it was tested for, I care what it can do. It was never tested to be in a puddle of milk but that does not mean it can not withstand it. Pressure is nothing or is a major issue, it depends on design.

I say they will be readable, you can believe a reporter... In the end, we will see if they are found who was right.

[Speedbagel_001]

I must be missing something here. WHy is CNN reporting NOW that they found the tail? They found the tail TWO YEARS AGO! Did it go missing since then? Somebody misplace it and now they "found" it again?

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-06-08/news/17925040_1_voice-recorders-victims-and-wreckage-black-box

[moose135]

I must be missing something here. WHy is CNN reporting NOW that they found the tail? They found the tail TWO YEARS AGO! Did it go missing since then? Somebody misplace it and now they "found" it again?
They found the tail section of the fuselage, where the black boxes are presumably located. They located the vertical stabilizer shortly after the crash. If you look at the article you linked to, it was written in June 2009 which was when they found the stab.

[Speedbagel_001]

OK, now I'm with you! Knew I missed something. What threw me off was that CNN's article showed the actual TAIL (stabilizer) even though, as you pointed out they found the tail SECTION this week. Going back to the CNN article today, I see the caption indicates the photo of the vert stab was from 2009. Thanks.