Air France Plane goes missing!!! 228 feared dead!

anilkalvani · 1st June 2009, 18:12

I just read this:

PARIS: An Air France plane on its way from Brazil to Paris has gone missing with 228 people on board, the airline said on Monday.

Its last known location was unclear. Brazilian television said the Brazilian air force had started a search mission over the Atlantic Ocean for the plane.

Flight AF 447 has 216 passengers and 12 crew on board. It left Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time and was expected in Paris on Monday at 11:15 a.m. (0915 GMT).

"Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from flight AF 447, which was flying on the Rio de Janeiro - Paris Charles de Gaulle route and was scheduled to arrive at 11.15 a.m. today (0915 GMT)," an Air France spokesman said.

An Air France-KLM spokeswoman in Amsterdam said there had been no radio contact with the missing plane "for a while".

The plane was an Airbus 330-200, according to the Paris airports authority website. Air France said relatives of people travelling on board flight AF 447 were being taken care of in a special area of Charles de Gaulle airport.

iceman91 · 1st June 2009, 18:23

Sad to hear about it.
Air France seems to be having a phase of bad luck these days.

sidindica · 1st June 2009, 18:23

I really hope that the airplane is safe.

More reports pour in that the plane may have run out of fuel.

Maybe potential fuel leak, could also be pilot error in transferring fuel to the failed engine (if there was any) through the cross feed valve.

However, a similar airplane, Air Transat flight 236 lost fuel in mid-flight and was able to glide safely for more than 8 hours across the atlantic without any loss of life.

I hope that the backup support system called RAT or Ram Air Turbine can provide basic backup for plane's hydraulics to make it a safe landing. If that fails, the 2-engined A 330 is doomed.

DriverR · 1st June 2009, 18:28

BBC is saying that the last communication from the plane stated short circuit after turbulence, and may have been struck by lightning.

D.V.R · 1st June 2009, 18:42

Just heard it over news.Feel really bad when hear something like that, knowng I need to fly an aircraft tomorrow.Certainly a bad year for aviation.

im_srini · 1st June 2009, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidindica

However, a similar airplane, Air Transat flight 236 lost fuel in mid-flight and was able to glide safely for more than 8 hours across the atlantic without any loss of life.

Hi Sid, the airplane in question, Air Transat Flight 236, was in the air without both engines for a little less than 20 minutes (descent rate without engines is quite high ~ 1500 to 2000 feet/min). The airplane made an emergency landing in a military airbase in the Azores, well before its intended destination of Lisbon.

simply_sunny001 · 1st June 2009, 19:53

I think the flight has gone down easily by now as it must have run out of fuel.

Otherwise it would have seen by any radar anywhere.

And finding the plane and recovery is very tough in sea.

DriverR · 1st June 2009, 19:59

The aircraft is certainly down. All news reports are stating that it has cross the flight time for the fuel it had on board.

Hoping for the best, but ditching in the Altantic in a storm is just bad.

anilagdr · 1st June 2009, 20:02

Its unlikely that anything optimistic can be said at this point of time. My heart goes out for each one on board and their kith & kin. Still hoping for the best.

zaks · 1st June 2009, 20:06

Let's hope it is safe somewhere until we know for sure. But in these times saying that a plane disappeared without knowing where it went down is a little surprising.

rejoycjohn · 1st June 2009, 20:07

'goood' news to hear when i have booked a flight to paris this month .... !!

any updates on this....?

Nitin · 1st June 2009, 20:12

God save them all. I hope each & every one makes it out alive.

anilkalvani · 1st June 2009, 20:32

Confirmed now that the plane has crashed into the Atlantic. Probably hit by lightning according to Air France.

Digital Vampire · 1st June 2009, 21:49

Thats really sad! Sent a shiver through me. I was at the verge of cancelling my road trip and take a flight this weekend.

Modern aircrafts getting damaged by a lighting strike is a rare possibility though. They are usually well protected against fuel tank bursts and surge protection for electronic devices by design...Most of the time, the outer shell bears the brunt and they are highly conductive to skim the discharge across causing almost nil or minimal damage. But with natures fury, even the best man-made protection crumbles!!! :-(

If the flight crashed and the people onboard are indeed dead, may their soul RIP.

simply_sunny001 · 1st June 2009, 22:00

there are a lot of possibilities as of now for the reason of the crash from the Lightening Strike,espionage etc.

As there was no communication from the pilot except some automated messages from plane regarding short circuit, so i'm sure some nasty happened and that too very very fast.

Airbus 330-200 has an excellant safety records and it is possibly a first Airbus 330-200 crash as per some Aviation experts

so we need to wait till they find the Blackbox and real reason for the crash can be uncovered.

1st June 2009, 18:12	#1
anilkalvani BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bandra West, Bombay Posts: 633 Thanked: 89 Times	Air France Plane goes missing!!! 228 feared dead! I just read this: PARIS: An Air France plane on its way from Brazil to Paris has gone missing with 228 people on board, the airline said on Monday. Its last known location was unclear. Brazilian television said the Brazilian air force had started a search mission over the Atlantic Ocean for the plane. Flight AF 447 has 216 passengers and 12 crew on board. It left Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time and was expected in Paris on Monday at 11:15 a.m. (0915 GMT). "Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from flight AF 447, which was flying on the Rio de Janeiro - Paris Charles de Gaulle route and was scheduled to arrive at 11.15 a.m. today (0915 GMT)," an Air France spokesman said. An Air France-KLM spokeswoman in Amsterdam said there had been no radio contact with the missing plane "for a while". The plane was an Airbus 330-200, according to the Paris airports authority website. Air France said relatives of people travelling on board flight AF 447 were being taken care of in a special area of Charles de Gaulle airport.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 18:23	#2
iceman91 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: melbourne/banga Posts: 1,961 Thanked: 34 Times View My Garage	Sad to hear about it. Air France seems to be having a phase of bad luck these days.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 18:23	#3
sidindica Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 4,892 Thanked: 8,106 Times	I really hope that the airplane is safe. More reports pour in that the plane may have run out of fuel. Maybe potential fuel leak, could also be pilot error in transferring fuel to the failed engine (if there was any) through the cross feed valve. However, a similar airplane, Air Transat flight 236 lost fuel in mid-flight and was able to glide safely for more than 8 hours across the atlantic without any loss of life. I hope that the backup support system called RAT or Ram Air Turbine can provide basic backup for plane's hydraulics to make it a safe landing. If that fails, the 2-engined A 330 is doomed.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 18:28	#4
DriverR BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 414 Thanked: 526 Times	BBC is saying that the last communication from the plane stated short circuit after turbulence, and may have been struck by lightning. Last edited by DriverR : 1st June 2009 at 18:32.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 18:42	#5
D.V.R BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Sydney / Secunderabad Posts: 278 Thanked: 14 Times	Just heard it over news.Feel really bad when hear something like that, knowng I need to fly an aircraft tomorrow.Certainly a bad year for aviation.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 19:53	#7
simply_sunny001 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: London & Rohtak Posts: 1,340 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	I think the flight has gone down easily by now as it must have run out of fuel. Otherwise it would have seen by any radar anywhere. And finding the plane and recovery is very tough in sea.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 19:59	#8
DriverR BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 414 Thanked: 526 Times	The aircraft is certainly down. All news reports are stating that it has cross the flight time for the fuel it had on board. Hoping for the best, but ditching in the Altantic in a storm is just bad.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 20:02	#9
anilagdr BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Kottayam Posts: 212 Thanked: 67 Times	Its unlikely that anything optimistic can be said at this point of time. My heart goes out for each one on board and their kith & kin. Still hoping for the best.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 20:06	#10
zaks BANNED Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 952 Thanked: 181 Times View My Garage	Let's hope it is safe somewhere until we know for sure. But in these times saying that a plane disappeared without knowing where it went down is a little surprising.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 20:07	#11
rejoycjohn BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bangalore / Calicut Posts: 462 Thanked: 864 Times View My Garage	'goood' news to hear when i have booked a flight to paris this month .... !! any updates on this....?
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 20:12	#12
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	God save them all. I hope each & every one makes it out alive.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 20:32	#13
anilkalvani BHPian Join Date: May 2008 Location: Bandra West, Bombay Posts: 633 Thanked: 89 Times	Flight crash confirmed Confirmed now that the plane has crashed into the Atlantic. Probably hit by lightning according to Air France.
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1st June 2009, 21:49	#14
Digital Vampire BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Utopia! Posts: 595 Thanked: 105 Times	Thats really sad! Sent a shiver through me. I was at the verge of cancelling my road trip and take a flight this weekend. Modern aircrafts getting damaged by a lighting strike is a rare possibility though. They are usually well protected against fuel tank bursts and surge protection for electronic devices by design...Most of the time, the outer shell bears the brunt and they are highly conductive to skim the discharge across causing almost nil or minimal damage. But with natures fury, even the best man-made protection crumbles!!! :-( If the flight crashed and the people onboard are indeed dead, may their soul RIP. Last edited by Digital Vampire : 1st June 2009 at 21:52.
	() Thanks

1st June 2009, 22:00	#15
simply_sunny001 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: London & Rohtak Posts: 1,340 Thanked: 18 Times View My Garage	there are a lot of possibilities as of now for the reason of the crash from the Lightening Strike,espionage etc. As there was no communication from the pilot except some automated messages from plane regarding short circuit, so i'm sure some nasty happened and that too very very fast. Airbus 330-200 has an excellant safety records and it is possibly a first Airbus 330-200 crash as per some Aviation experts so we need to wait till they find the Blackbox and real reason for the crash can be uncovered.
	() Thanks