Black Box Reveals Terrifying Final Moments of Air France Flight: Plunged 38,000 Ft. in 4 Minutes
- Posted on May 27, 2011 at 11:53am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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PARIS (The Blaze/AP) — An Air France jet carrying 228 people stalled before plunging from 38,000 feet (11,600 meters) and crashing into the Atlantic Ocean in less than four minutes, accident investigators said Friday.
Black box recordings from the plane reveal the final minutes of the doomed plane, as two co-pilots struggled to regain control over the plane as it swayed from side to side and fell at almost 11,000 feet (3,350 meters) per minute.
Everyone aboard Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris were killed on June 1, 2009.
The initial findings also showed the captain was out of the cockpit for a routine rest period and arrived more than a minute after the emergency began.
The plane was passing through bad weather in the mid-Atlantic when the problems began.
More than eight minutes before the crash, the co-pilot at the controls, one of three members of the flight crew, advised the cabin crew “you should watch out” for turbulence ahead. He said the plane could not climb out of the cloud layer where the turbulence was happening because it was not cold enough.
Soon after, the plane’s autopilot and auto-thrust shut off, the stall alarm sounded twice and the co-pilot at the controls, 32-year-old Pierre-Cedric Bonin, took over manual control
The plane climbed from 35,000 to 38,000 feet, but stalled and began to fall.
“At the time of the event, the two co-pilots were seated in the cockpit and the captain was resting,” a BEA statement says. The captain returned to the cockpit about 1 1/2 minutes after the autopilot disengaged at 2:10 a.m. and 5 seconds, Coordinated Universal Time, equivalent to GMT but more precise.
The two co-pilots wrestled with the controls for about 3 1/2 minutes in a bid to stop the Airbus A330 from spiraling into the sea, the report said.
Business Insider has some graphics illustrating the planes final minutes:
The report did not analyze the data or cockpit conversations or assign blame. The report also did not suggest whether the Pitot tubes, the plane’s speed sensors – which investigators have said likely played a role – were the main culprits, or whether the temporary absence of Capt. Marc Dubois from the cockpit had any impact on the quickly unfolding events.
So far, the search teams have not found the plane’s Pitot tubes. Co-pilot Pierre-Cedric Bonin, then 32, was at the controls as the plane went down, sitting to the right of a second co-pilot, David Robert, 37. Pilots on long-haul flights often take turns at the controls to remain alert. Dubois returned to the cockpit, but did not take back the controls.
The flight recorders were found along with bodies in the latest search of the ocean depths last month. A full report on the crash is not due until next year
—
Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
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Comments (69)
FreedomWitness
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 4:11pmIf you ever saw the show SECONDS FROM DISASTER there was once an airliner that dumped it’s fuel by mistake. Completely out of fuel the airliner ‘glided’ I think 75 to 100 miles or more and landed safely on a remote military airbase. There is something very very wrong with this story.
Report Post »autofixer
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 4:09pmI am a pilot with a major US Airline and I fly to RIO nearly weekly. There is nearly always weather around the Intertropical convergence zone, that is where this event occured (+/- 5degrees of the equator). Not to mention when most North American and European bound flights arrive in this area it is in the middle of the night; generally around 3 AM Eastern. There is no flying by the seat of your pants, It is dark, usually there is weather and you are over the Amazon with no ground reference at all. That is why airline pilots are Airline Transport Pilots, we must demonstrate a higher level of skill and knowlege, with regard to aviation than say a Commercial or Private pilot. It is sad but Airbus had an order out to replace the pitot tube system on A330s (My company completed this directive well before 447.). The A330 making up Air France 447 had not been modified.
Report Post »joseph mitch nixon
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 4:04pmfor all my weekend pilots , a jumbo jet with swept wings do not do what a C152 does . ok .
Report Post »if you upset a jumbo you are in truble , and the recovery is an art based on being calm .
the airbus does have joysticks and the one who fly is the one who grabed it first , you cannot help like in the C152 or in B747 .
it is a lot to talk about
i do not buy the pitot and speed story , the plane got FMS speed and you must look at that too.
they got in a huge storm – a mistake , huge mistake – and later got too much in the plate .
sorry for the pax , very sorry .
FreedomWitness
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 4:02pmThere were two Muslim men aboard the plane known by French officials to have ties to terrorist groups. This was part of the very early information released to the press and then quickly forgotten/not reported/suppressed.. Just the way it is conveniently forgotten that Muslim men rape young boys but don’t consider it to be homosexuality. That information came out in the first days of the Afghanistan war and has also been conveniently forgotten/not reported/suppressed. HELLO McFLY!
Report Post »Atrocities
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:21pmJust blame it on George Bush.
Report Post »liberalsarealiens
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:40pmNo now is the time for everything to be Obama’s fault! Just because it is! LOL
Report Post »babylonvi
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:45pmThe Airbus computer is notorious for crashing aircraft in spite of valiant efforts of pilots. This fly-by-wire computer controlled system gives no direct control of the aircraft except through the computer. Even an “override” would be through computers.. IMHO it should not be allowed in commercial passenger aircraft.
Report Post »RWNJ01
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:40pmNot true the Airbus can be flown with a total computer malfunction the rudder is completely mechanical, and well as the horizontal trim. The override is to turn off the automation and fly it like a regular aircraft. Even if all three independent pitot static systems failed, the IRS would still give valid attitude data and so would the engine instruments. They seem to have failed to recover from an abnormal attitude that was coupled with a stall. The override would be to turn the computers off (ELAC, SEC and FAC) and the computers do not control this just an on/off swith. Airbus makes fine aircraft similar to Boeing in saftey and popularity. How many conventional aircraft have crashed do to an disoriented pilots? Way to many.
Report Post »liberalsarealiens
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:34pmAirbus uses a system of auto flight that prevents the throttle levers from moving even though the engines are changing conditions. It’s a big indication of engine throttle change on Boeing A/C but not on the Airbus. Pitot tubes use ram air and ambient air for airspeed, altitude, and verical speed All this information is sent to the compuer so it can control engine throttle etc. If iced over ( there would be a failure light on the annunuation panel to alert the pilot) it would send false info to the computer. Sever up or down drafts could have effcted the aircraft also as thunderstorms are VERY powerfull things. 38,000 ft is more than enough to recover from a stall if in fact the computer was giving false info. But, the pilots would have to recognize the situation. We are trained in the event but other factors could have come into play if the auto flight system was fighting them. There was a crash in France on a Airbus 320 because the computer would not let the pilots increase power and climb the aircraft. They just slid into the trees off the end of the runway.
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 6:03pmYes, I saw that footage.There was a crash somewhere and they found out that the maintenace crew put tape over the static port or something and the pilot never noticed it when he did his pre flight check. They got a false speed indication and flew into the water at night.
Report Post »UPSETVET
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:11pmMost comments I have read refer to the known or unknown “cause” of the fatal crash of Air France Flight# 447. Our speculations should be put aside until all the “facts” are known. One “fact” is the death of all passengers and flight crew totalling 228 deaths. Hopefully answers will be forthcoming so that all the families and friends of the victems can have some closure. Maybe evidence will be discovered to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
As an American living in Brazil for the past 37 years, my heart goes out to the families and friends of those who died on that ill fated flight. June 1, 2011 will mark the second anniversary of the tragedy and many are still grieving over the deaths of their loved ones and seeking the answer to just one question “Why?” The answer may not ever be known. This wouldn’t be the first time an aircraft has crashed without anyone ever knowing why.
Report Post »PureDrumFury
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:10pmThat first video contradicts the article. It talks about the pitot tubes icing over as the first thing to go wrong (odd since they have heaters in them) and that the stall was the result of errors made by the crew. I‘m wondering why they didn’t take a loop around the storm or head back in the first place. Sad, tragic thing, this is.
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 5:54pmThere is a pitot tube heat switch. If they forgot to turn it on the computer will have a false speed reading.
Report Post »Bigliardi
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:05pmThis is just one of the six million reasons that I refuse to get on anything designed to leave terra firma…
Report Post »bry
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:02pmI will visit Europe once the bridge is built : ).
Report Post »Bigliardi
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:10pmI am with you bry….
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 5:58pmFlying is safer than driving.I have been on all kinds of planes.A 747 once lost engine oil pressure and we just flew on the other three engines.Never noticed anything. On the way to the first Gulf War, our C-141 blew a tire on take off in Germany.They aborted the take off and we spent the whole day there.
Report Post »thecrow
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:03pmhttp://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/signs-and-wonders/
Report Post »Drum Man
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 1:45pmThose poor passengers…. that is not a way I would want to go… It must have been just terrifying.
Report Post »opaque blinders
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 1:28pmRecovering from a stall that most likely resulted in a flat spin over an ocean without reference in the dark. Wow, not going to happen. Pitot tubes have to be the culprit here. Why else after the autopilot disengages that he would increase the angle of attack and climb 3000 feet before the stall. Gauges must have lied to them to essentially place the aircraft in a stall situation.
Report Post »greenherring
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:47pmI feel so bad for the passengers. It must be horrifying to sit there in a plane and know what’s going to happen. I can’t imagine what would go through ones mind.
Report Post »So sad.
BlazingPatriot
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:20pmFalling at 158 fps (feet per second) would cause a person to lose consciousness.
More than likely, the passengers were passed out within a few moments of the initial violent descent.
The force of impact with the water would basically disintegrate the human body upon colliding with airplane materials and other humans, thus causing no concern for pain and/or trauma.
May all those onboard find peace and rest in the arms of God.
Report Post »stogieguy7
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 4:21pmNot so, blazing patriot because the CVR clearly has the crew in the flight deck fighting with the aircraft all the way down. They did not pass out and I tend to think that most of the passengers didn’t either. Upon impact, the bodies of the passengers were reported to be in a variety of conditions ranging from intact to destroyed. None could have possibly survived that impact – not even for a second.
Those last 4 minutes of that flight must have been absolutely terrifying, with the plane violently falling and them not knowing what is going on – in the dark of night. I feel for those poor people, I really do. Horrible.
Report Post »BlazingPatriot
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 11:11pm@stogieguy7
Report Post »I disagree.
It is possible for the flight crew to have remained conscious until impact due to their extensive flight training (most likely military) and emergency systems available to them, but the odds are the majority of the passengers were either passed out or expired from shock or heart failure prior to impact.
GI_Jungle
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:44pmMoisture in sensors caused the crash of the stealth bomber in Guam.
Is it a possibility that the crystallization of moisture in the speed sensors of this aircraft tricked the flight controls into thinking the aircraft was going faster/slower than reality causing the stall and crash?
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 1:13pmThe pitot tube has to be heated.If not, ice will clogg it up at high altitudes.The computer control system will not let you put in your control inputs.
Report Post »StarBlazer
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:34pmI understand an occasional mistake in the headlines, but does it seem to anyone else that this is becoming WAY to common? Don’t get me wrong; I really enjoy reading The Blaze and I have made it part of my daily news surfing, but it’s concerning to see such blatant mistakes made, so often.
Report Post »Your Name Here
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 1:29pmAre you pointing fingers when you yourself don’t even know the difference between TO and TOO?
Report Post »Arrogance personified!
KewlBigDan
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:17pmYea..‘TO’ has one ‘O’, and ‘TOO’ has 2 ‘O’…next…
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:18pm@ your name here
Umm…I believe Starblazer’s grammar is correct. But that’s ok. Nobody is perfect.
Report Post »BlazingPatriot
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:32pm@KickinBack
WRONG!!
Report Post »The first “to” is spelled correctly. The next one is spelled incorrectly in it’s context.
Should be spelled “too”.
KickinBack
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:41pmMy bad, I missed that “to”
Report Post »OUTRIDER WRITER
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 5:20pmAll you folks messing around with too many toos when people are lying at the bottom of the ocean after plunging in a jumbo jet from 38,000 feet.
Report Post »I‘m constantly finding mistakes in what I’ve typed. Fact of life.
@STARBLAZER, you are not the Lone Ranger; shake the dust off your boots and keep walkin’.
JiminyCricket
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 5:33pmI too like this web site, but the mistakes aren’t limited to headlines. There are so many grammatical and punctuation mistakes. The poor editing and proofing ultimately hurts the credibility of the site.
Report Post »Kalshion
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:08pmAnd those grammar mistakes and such aren’t even unique to The Blaze, I see them on every media site.
Report Post »BOMUSTGO
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:25pmThe Airbus has a Fly-By-Wire system. They had plenty of altitude to recover from a wing stall. If the pitot tube was blocked, the computer was flying on false information.They need an over ride switch.
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:54pmAirbus aircraft have only four or five onboard back up systems Boeing has up to 10 computer and manual back up systems.
Report Post »thecrow
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:23pm“The CVRs and FDRs from American 11 and United 175 were not found.”
- 9/11 Commission Report
http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/black-box/
Report Post »sbeejustsaying
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 3:40pmThat’s what they tell us.
Report Post »Kalshion
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:05pmNot hard to believe at all, if you factor in how they crashed and that those building came straight down. If the data recorders were even IN the buildings to begin with (the force of impact ‘COULD’ have thrown those recorders OUT of the buildings, they may very well be somewhere else in NYC.
There’s also the chance those recorders were pulverized. And before someone says that those black boxes are impervious, NOTHING is impervious. Everything has its breaking point. If those recorders are still in one piece, we may not find them for many more years to come.
Report Post »Alan
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:21pmI’m guessing when this plane crashed, no mention of the year, month, day, etc. . . who wrote this crud?
Report Post »bry
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:39pmWell, the headline is wrong, but it did say this “Everyone aboard Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris were killed on June 1, 2009″.
Report Post »Kalshion
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 7:02pmMight be a good idea to READ the article, and not assume something based off the title ;-)
Report Post »MattPSU
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:13pmI think the search for that black box was long and cost millions. I commend the people that finally found it. I hope that we can learn from this accident and prevent others from happening.
Report Post »Laus Deo
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:12pmWow… 4 seconds, huh? Sounds impossible to me. Oh wait… Another Blaze Bumble.
Report Post »craiger59
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:52pmA story about a planeload of people plunging to their deaths and you take this opportunity to take a dig at “The Blaze”. SAD.
Report Post »Laus Deo
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:53pmLoosen up, lass. I think you’re wound too tightly.
Report Post »jeromeGman
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 5:13pmNextyou will be blamming George Bush?
Report Post »CatB
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:08pmToo sad . and too much reliance on instruments and not on good “old fashioned” flying… poor people– that must have been a few terrifying minutes before the end.
Report Post »westy98530
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 1:12pmWithout functioning instruments, there is no such thing as “good old fashioned” flying. Not in the weather at night, anyway. That’s why when it comes to instruments, even the backups have backups. Instruments are what allows that kind of flight, and there is absolutely no such thing as too much reliance on instruments. NOT relying on instruments has killed an order of magnitude more people than relying on faulty ones has. If the primary instruments fail, go to your backups. There’s enough redundant information coming from redundant sources that a competent pilot who understands his aircraft should be able to correctly diagnose which instruments are faulty pretty quickly.
Report Post »ramburner
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 8:23pm@CATB… Sometimes the flight fuel controls override the computers that measure the air speed. (also a possible cause) However, while the flight air speed sensors do have tubes that used to be blocked by vermin and or ice, they also have a small pressure sensor made of an electronic chip that continues to give the industry a challenge due to its sensitivity and sometimes its irregular response. This problem has plagued the engineers in the industry for a long time.
Report Post »Skytrash
Posted on May 29, 2011 at 1:48pmWESTY hit the nail on the head, as a widebody aircraft pilot I couldn’t of said it better!
Report Post »mendolover
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:07pmPlease fix your headline.
Report Post »mendolover
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:07pmFix your headline please.
Report Post »yanki161
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:05pmOooops!…. Headline is supposed to say ‘4 minutes” not 4 seconds. And if it was at 38,000 feet and fell in four minutes, check my math, but wouldn’t that mean it was falling at almost 10,000 feet per minute?
Report Post »Locked
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:09pmYeah; the speed of sound is around 11,000 feet per second. Headline would have been neat to see “plane plummets almost at the speed of sound”… except they obviously got the minutes and seconds wrong.
Report Post »nzkiwi
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:18pmAs a pilot (of small planes), stalls happen but are recoverable – unless one is too close to the ground.
38,000 feet of altitude is roughly 6 miles up. Something else happened.
Report Post »DUGinFLA
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:25pmOK, I‘m glad I’m not the only one doing public school math on that one. Although, it probably would have been better for those involved if it had happened that fast. Obviously, none of us living could possibly imagine. God bless the souls….
Report Post »USAMEDIC3008
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:27pmSpeed of sound IS about 1090 ft per second or 765 mph sea level at 32 deg F.
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:37pmThis is not the first time this has happened. I thought the problem had been fixed with the pitot tubes. The pitot tube is just a small tube, the size of a flute that measures airspeed. They had a problem with mud daubers making nests inside of them and causing crashes. They are supposed to have heaters to keep them from icing up. Just one small part can kill a lot of people.
Report Post »Lloyd Drako
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 12:39pmNZKIWI
Report Post »I see what you mean. Probably why the pitot tubes are suspect. In darkness, in turbulence and with the pitot tubes frozen or blocked, even 38000 feet might not have been enough.
theonefromabove
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 1:19pmWow that would be crazy!
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »UPSETVET
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 2:23pmAs a young man born and raised in Texas I took up bullriding for the adventure and thrill. A bullrider must remain on the bull for 8 seconds to qualify. In most activities 8 seconds don‘t mean much and doesn’t seem like a very long time. However, when you’re on the back of a bucking and turning bull, it seems like an eternity.
From the time of the pilot’s perception that flight 447 was in trouble until it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean there was a time span of “four minutes”. Four minutes pass by pretty fast during normal events, but, we can’t begin to imagime terror and sense of helplessness the passengers must have experienced during those four minutes.
Report Post »ChiefGeorge
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 6:27pmThat must have been the longest 4min ride!
Report Post »@ Coyote2
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:31pmAt the speed of gravity, that’s about right.
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on May 27, 2011 at 9:51pmI have Seen the report that the Computer sent out before they lost contact. The computers where reporting back to base that the aircraft had lost all power. From what i have seen in this report and the report in the data sheet it looks like the Aircraft Broke up as it was coming down. If you stall and aircraft of that size and the plane falls at that rate of speed that means the only the obvious. That the Aircraft broke apart from the speed of descent and the angle off attack.
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