In this photo released by Brazil's Defense Ministry, Brazilian military search for an Air France jet over the Atlantic Ocean, Wednesday, June 3, 2009. A 23-foot (seven-meter) chunk of plane and a 12-mile-long (20-kilometer-long) oil slick were found early Wednesday, Brazilian air force spokesman Col. Jorge Amaral said. Rescuers have still found no signs of life. The new debris was discovered about 90 kilometers (55 miles) south where searchers a day earlier found an airplane seat, a fuel slick, an orange lifevest and pieces of white debris. (AP Photo/Brazil Defense Ministry)
Aviation experts say the length of the debris field connected to the crash of Air France Flight 447 may indicate turbulence, rather than lightning, downed the Airbus A330 jet.
“When you have a debris field that is scattered over a very large area… that could be indicative of an in-flight breakup,” former National Transportation Safety Board investigator Greg Feith said this morning on NBC’s Today show.
Like lightning, turbulence rarely causes catastrophic aircraft failure. In 1966, a BOAC flight from Tokyo to Hong Kong crashed in a storm near Mt. Fuji, killing all 124 people on board. Investigators concluded that “abnormally severe turbulence” was the primary cause of the accident.
Air France Flight 447 may have encountered severe turbulence as it flew through the Intertropical Convergence Zone near the Equator. The debris field was found in this area, which is notorious for its severe storms, about 600 miles northeast of the coast of Brazil.
Meteorologists analyzing conditions at the time of the crash early Monday morning believe the aircraft may have encountered heavy turbulence. Experienced pilots concur that turbulence may have at least contributed to the disaster.
The Airbus A330 is a modern jet designed to withstand severe turbulence. However, as we have seen in the space program, even a seemingly minor manufacturing flaw or maintenance issue can result in catastrophe. Like most airlines, Air France is a safe and reliable carrier, however, the company’s safety record is not as strong as some of its competitors.
Investigators hope they will be able to recover the aircraft’s “black boxes,” the data recorders that could shed significant light on the cause of the crash. They are not optimistic, though, since the recorders could be at the bottom of the sea in a deep part of the Atlantic Ocean. France is sending a ship equipped with two mini-subs to the crash site, but finding the black boxes in such a large area may be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
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