Tag Archives: Air France Flight 447

When I was twelve in 1956, I got interested in the sinking of a passenger liner called the Andrea Doria off Nantucket. I remember staying up late listening to radio coverage of the rescue efforts for what was the flagship of the Italian Line. That was all there was then, late-night radio.

Today, of course, there’s quite a lot of informed speculation available on the Web for almost anything, and so I have been at it, off and on, since word of AF447–including perusing this excellant weather blog analysis complete with plotted storm maps showing the flight path. I got it off the transcript of a Rush Limbaugh conversation with an Airbus pilot. He speculated that the tragedy could have begun with the reported electrical failure which could have taken out their weather radar. But that leaves the question of why/how the electricals failed, considering the Airbus has "four fully-redundant electrical systems."

Snagged this post title from the Seablogger whose speculation centers on a megabolt of lightning combined with hail damage to the flight deck windows, which could account for the reported depressurization. But the weather blog above discounts the possibility of hail. Plenty to wonder about, and, thanks to the Internet, plenty of sources to help in the wondering.

MORE: Mystery deepens. Not so much the bomb threat a few days before the flight, but discovery of the debris trail and fuel slick of miles across the ocean, suggesting the plane’s breakup in mid-air. If Airbus wants to sell any more planes, they’d better figure out what caused such a calamity.