Air France passenger jet vanishes from radar

[elle1777]

Originally Posted by bagshopr

I hate to fly and incidents like this only reinforce my problem. I know my fear is irrational and I miss out on a lot of trips because of it, but I just hate flying. I have flown many times and have always had wonderful flights so it is not because of any bad experience. Overall I am a very calm, sensible person but just the thought of an airplane cabin can make me feel queasy. My fear is that the plane will suddenly drop out of the sky- like it did for these poor people. I take the train whenever possible. If I have to fly, I take Xanax.

ditto...but I usually take benedryl or dramamine and just pass out (granted I am with someone to wake me up later)

[hotshot]

This is a very sad situation and we all wish the families of these people our heartfelt sympathy and compassion. How devastating to see some of these freinds & family members being interviewed on CNN. The loss is just horrific

[ronsdiva]

Originally Posted by Vegas Long Legs

Maybe at the height they were at, they would of been deprived of oxygen & not really know what happened? It would be so frightening to know your plane is crashing.

My prayers are with those poor people and their families. One report said there was no mayday from the pilots so I do pray whatever happened was so fast everyone passed out right away from lack of oxygen when the cabin depressurized and the knew nothing and did not suffer.

[SeonaLuxury]

Originally Posted by Vegas Long Legs

Maybe at the height they were at, they would of been deprived of oxygen & not really know what happened? It would be so frightening to know your plane is crashing.

I really hope this is how it happened. One of the messages received was that the cabin had lost pressure. So maybe everyone on board passed, before it crashed into the sea.

[Veelyn]

http://www.charter.net/news/read.php...ARSDCCL1_UNEWS

Debris confirms crash of Air France Flight 447


FERNANDO DE NORONHA, Brazil (AP) — An airplane seat, a fuel slick and pieces of white debris scattered over three miles of open ocean marked the site in the mid-Atlantic Tuesday where Air France Flight 447 plunged to its doom, Brazil's defense minister said.
Brazilian military pilots spotted the wreckage, sad reminders bobbing on waves, in the ocean 400 miles northeast of these islands off Brazil's coast. The plane carrying 228 people vanished Sunday about four hours into its flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
"I can confirm that the five kilometers of debris are those of the Air France plane," Defense Minister Nelson Jobim told reporters at a hushed press conference in Rio. He said no bodies had been found and there was no sign of life.
The effort to recover the debris and locate the all-important black box recorders, which emit signals for only 30 days, is expected to be exceedingly challenging.
"We are in a race against the clock in extremely difficult weather conditions and in a zone where depths reach up to 7,000 meters (22,966 feet)," French Prime Minister Francois Fillon told lawmakers in parliament Tuesday .
Brazilian military pilots first spotted the floating debris early Tuesday in two areas about 35 miles (60 kilometers) apart, said Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral. The area is not far off the flight path of Flight 447.
Jobim said the main debris field was found near where the initial signs were spotted.
The cause of the crash will not be known until the black boxes are recovered — which could take days or weeks. But weather and aviation experts are focusing on the possibility of a collision with a brutal storm that sent winds of 100 mph straight into the airliner's path.
"The airplane was flying at 500 mph northeast and the air is coming at them at 100 mph," said AccuWeather.com expert senior meteorologist Henry Margusity. "That probably started the process that ended up in some catastrophic failure of the airplane."
Towering Atlantic storms are common this time of year near the equator — an area known as the intertropical convergence zone. "That's where the northeast trade winds meet the southeast trade winds — its the meeting place of the southern hemisphere and the northern hemisphere's weather," said Margusity.


[Cont at link]

[Necromancer]

^^ Thanks for the update of this tragedy.

[macska]

Originally Posted by SeonaLuxury

Originally Posted by Vegas Long Legs Maybe at the height they were at, they would of been deprived of oxygen & not really know what happened? It would be so frightening to know your plane is crashing. I really hope this is how it happened. One of the messages received was that the cabin had lost pressure. So maybe everyone on board passed, before it crashed into the sea.

That is what usually happens when a plane depressurizes at that altitude and drops that quickly. The body "shuts down" (i.e. passes out) so that you do not feel anything. It's a small consolation for such a tragic event, but at least they did not feel anything, as they would have passed out quickly.

My heart goes out to all those families and loved ones.

[Jill]

this is sooo tragic....I cant begin to imagine what these families r going through...

[GirlFriday]

What an awful thing to happen. My prayers are with the families. I hope they went quickly and painlessly.

[Vegas Long Legs]

I thought they flew around storms. I've an read article that make it sound like they think they flew right into this one? What is up with that?

Anyone remember that golfer (Payne?) a few years ago that leased the jet & it crashed? They said everyone on board had passed of from lack of oxygen & it would of happened within seconds.

[Necromancer]

^^ Yeah, I remember that. It was golfer Payne Stewart.

[jordin7546]

i feel so bad for the familes.. i just heard about this on the news earlier today.. it's seriously crazy.

[Pursegrrl]

Originally Posted by Vegas Long Legs

I thought they flew around storms. I've an read article that make it sound like they think they flew right into this one? What is up with that? Anyone remember that golfer (Payne?) a few years ago that leased the jet & it crashed? They said everyone on board had passed of from lack of oxygen & it would of happened within seconds.

I remember that...didn't the plane fly on auto-pilot for quite awhile before crashing?

[Pursegrrl]

my prayers and condolences to the families of those aboard this AF flight...just breaks my heart no matter what happened.

[TXGirlie]

Originally Posted by Vegas Long Legs

I thought they flew around storms. I've an read article that make it sound like they think they flew right into this one? What is up with that? Anyone remember that golfer (Payne?) a few years ago that leased the jet & it crashed? They said everyone on board had passed of from lack of oxygen & it would of happened within seconds.

They do fly around storms to a degree, but alot of times will go thru the areas of better weather (relatively speaking) by using the weather radar to help find that. Sometimes there is a solid line of TS and there is no way around it to a better area, just thru it. The planes can withstand turbulence, but prolonged severe turbulence would definitely have an effect. I think you are looking at a combination of events here....severe turbulence, lightning, explosive decompression.

The Learjet crash is a different scenario, but similar in some ways. There are different theories that abound, but it's believed that the oxygen system simply wasn't turned on (and possibly the pressurization sys.), and they had a cabin pressurization problem. They were incapacitated early in the flight. It's still unknown HOW the cabin pressurization problem happened.