AF 447 search for wreckage to resume

[JF Mezei]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11843453

As you recall, in June 2009, an Air France A330-200 between Rio and
Paris fell into the ocean without warning. The french government will
make a 4th attempt to find the wreckage, in particular the flight/voice
recorder boxes.

They expect to start in February 2011.

Question: Wouldn't a nuclear submarine be able to map the sea botton at
any time of the year ? At such a depth, wouldn't surface weather be
inconsequential ? Or are there still strong enough currents at depth to
make such underwater exploration impossible, even if it doesn't require
any support from the surface ?
--
misc.travel.air-industry is a moderated newsgroup. Please mail messages to
***@airinfo.aero, and see http://mtai.airinfo.aero for the FAQ and policies.

[matt weber]

On Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:53:35 -0500, JF Mezei

Post by JF Mezei
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11843453
As you recall, in June 2009, an Air France A330-200 between Rio and
Paris fell into the ocean without warning. The french government will
make a 4th attempt to find the wreckage, in particular the flight/voice
recorder boxes.
They expect to start in February 2011.
Question: Wouldn't a nuclear submarine be able to map the sea botton at
any time of the year ?

Maybe. Depends upon the presence of absence of currents at
significantly different temperatures. The temperature changes can
create thermoclines, which block sonar mapping.

I guess the $64 million question is why they think they will have more
success this time. Finding the CVR and FDR makes looking for the
proverbial needle in a Haystack look easy.

What I'd be curious about is whether or not the US Government knows
where the aircraft crashed (and has provided that information to the
French). The US operates vast arrays of underwater listening devices,
and I am sure the impact made plenty of noise.

Post by JF Mezei
At such a depth, wouldn't surface weather be
inconsequential ? Or are there still strong enough currents at depth to
make such underwater exploration impossible, even if it doesn't require
any support from the surface ?

--
misc.travel.air-industry is a moderated newsgroup. Please mail messages to
***@airinfo.aero, and see http://mtai.airinfo.aero for the FAQ and policies.