Downed Air France Plane Sent Automatic Error Message Before Crash
Posted June 14, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 sent an automatic error message just before it went down.
Investigators reported that Flight 447 indicated a problem with its rudder safety device.
However, it’s not known if that problem led to the tragic crash.
There were 228 people on board the plane, including one Canadian. At least 50 bodies have been recovered, but none have yet been identified.
The Airbus A330 was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it encountered severe thunderstorms. The crash is the worst commercial air accident since 2001, and the deadliest ever for Air France.
Investigators have not yet revealed the cause of the crash. However, Airbus had recommended that the speed-measuring instruments onboard its A330 planes be replaced.
They had not yet been changed on this particular aircraft. Prior to the crash, the controls registered inconsistent airspeed readings.
The French government is looking for the plane’s black box with the help of the U.S. The black box records all flight information, including data and voice recorders.
Submarines are scouring the ocean floor but the grid is wide and the water is deep. The black boxes will only send out strong signals for another two weeks before the transmissions begin to fade.
The first wreckage pieces and objects of the Air France A330 aircraft, flight AF447. Photo credit Mauricio Lima/AFP/Getty Images.
