Air France passenger jet vanishes from radar

[Sternchen]

I really hope they do find the black boxes so that this mystery can be solved!

[LVmom]

This is so incredibly sad. I hope they can get some closure for grieving families.

[Vegas Long Legs]

Could they not of went out of their way to avoid this storm? What is another hour or two when it means safety?

I'l bet there are some major changes after this. God bless the crew & passengers.

Anyone remember TWA flight #800? Not everyone on that plane was recovered.

[Alyana]

apparently, as many pilots who have made commentary on this tragedy have said that it is not uncommon to go around/out of the way if a storm is detected, (even though the planes can handle a lightening strike,) not just for safety but for customer comfort.

[macska]

Yes, you can go around a storm, but sometimes the storm shows up "out of nowhere", so you end up having to go through some of it until you find a space with no storm.

[twin53]

DH was a Navy flight officer and he said you never knowingly fly into storms. horrible tragedy.

[Roo]

I think if this were a terrorist act, a group would have stepped forward to claim responsibility by now. That's the whole idea. Also one would assume those weather patterns in the Atlantic between Africa and So. America have been present for some time and that thousands of planes have flown thru them with no problems? Why a crash now? So many unanswered questions.

One thing I will say, and I hope I don't offend any Airbus fans: Airbus planes make me nervous. They are loud, bumpy and clunky to fly on. The engines make noise and there are always loud thumps and bumps. It also seems like turbulence feels WAY worse on an AB vs. a Boeing aircraft. Of course I live in the land of Boeing-- but I've just noticed a big difference in the design of these planes and how comfortable they are to fly on in general. My husband, however, will not set foot on an Airbus. We have friends in Toulouse and when we were visiting we were told all sorts of scary stories about what goes on in the AB plant there, how workers are frequently intoxicated, etc. Dunno if it's true, but my hub says "if it's not Boeing, I ain't going!" And since he hates flying in general, it makes it tough to go on vacation!!

[renie]

Originally Posted by Roo

I think if this were a terrorist act, a group would have stepped forward to claim responsibility by now. That's the whole idea. Also one would assume those weather patterns in the Atlantic between Africa and So. America have been present for some time and that thousands of planes have flown thru them with no problems? Why a crash now? So many unanswered questions. One thing I will say, and I hope I don't offend any Airbus fans: Airbus planes make me nervous. They are loud, bumpy and clunky to fly on. The engines make noise and there are always loud thumps and bumps. It also seems like turbulence feels WAY worse on an AB vs. a Boeing aircraft. Of course I live in the land of Boeing-- but I've just noticed a big difference in the design of these planes and how comfortable they are to fly on in general. My husband, however, will not set foot on an Airbus. We have friends in Toulouse and when we were visiting we were told all sorts of scary stories about what goes on in the AB plant there, how workers are frequently intoxicated, etc. Dunno if it's true, but my hub says "if it's not Boeing, I ain't going!" And since he hates flying in general, it makes it tough to go on vacation!!

Don't worry about offending - DH is a mechanical engineer with experience in aviation. Some of his own common knowledge of the plane freaked me out (the 'electrical problem' message - it reports specifics but they aren't releasing that to the public just yet) and when he mentioned what happened in Australia, it made my heart sink further.

Knowing what happened can bring peace to families and more information to hopefully prevent this from happening again! I hope they bring in specialized equipment to try and recover the black boxes.

[Roo]

^^ Thanks for the comments. What worries me is this: I believe that Airbus is partially owned/subsidized by the Gov't of France, is it not? As well as Air France? What worries me is if there is a significant defect in this aircraft there is going to be less transparency about that from these officials because of all the entanglements there.... and if this aircraft (or others) are DANGEROUS, the public needs to know ASAP. It seems like in the US they find this out fast, like the problems with the jackscrews that caused the Alaska Air jet to go down off the coast of Calif. It seems like they yanked those planes out of service super fast to fix the problem once they found out about it? If this is a defect, none of those planes should be flying until they figure it out!!

[Florasun]

This is so sad. I pray that the people who were killed in this crash did not suffer and that their families find closure for this terrible tragedy.

[macska]

Originally Posted by Roo

[...]It also seems like turbulence feels WAY worse on an AB vs. a Boeing aircraft. [...]

Really? I find it the other way around - to each his own I guess.

[pollinilove]

so they still cant find it ?

[Pursegrrl]

Originally Posted by Vegas Long Legs

Could they not of went out of their way to avoid this storm? What is another hour or two when it means safety? I'l bet there are some major changes after this. God bless the crew & passengers. Anyone remember TWA flight #800? Not everyone on that plane was recovered.

VLL, I shudder....oh yes I and so many others here remember TWA 800.

My heart breaks for the victims' families...and I pray that at least the black box can be found to piece together this tragedy. I too hope that everyone was unconscious and not knowing what was happening...how horrific to crash in a remote area in the Atlantic...and this is upcoming winter in the southern hemisphere too.

[dreamdoll]

I really hope they start changing the routes, apparently, it's a route prone to storms...

[Roo]

^^ I can't help but keep thinking about how many planes have likely gone thru that area thousands of times in storms. Does anyone know if that is a common flight path? What made this time different? Its such a mystery!?