Missing Jet: 'Fire' Spotted On Atlantic Ocean

SkyNews ^

[traumer]

A commercial pilot has said he saw a "fire" on the Atlantic Ocean close to the route of a missing Air France plane.

The pilot, for TAMAirlines, said he spotted what appeared to be orange marks in the ocean near to where the jet went missing.

More follows...

[element92]

Airbus —> composite rudders?

BTw. a friend of mine said the A3?? 2001 Queens NY
crasher had been rolled,and had big time plastic-repairs
on its rudder

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Oh no! Another anonymous terrorist attack like TWA 800? Those darn terrorists are trying to cause terror without taking credit for it. Very clever. (/sarc)

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

Harris is a very common name in Houston.... I wonder if they’re related to dentist-murderere Clara Harris?

[HopeSprings]

Michael Harris and his wife Anne were fine people who lived in The Woodlands until last year, when he was assigned by Devon Energy to help with geologic operations in the Rio office. You couldn’t have met a nicer guy. Please keep their family in your prayers.

[JMKirnan]

“I heard that the Airbus is a fine aircraft.”

“As long as the Italian Tab A fits into the French Slot B.”

6 weeks ago, I was on a flight from Atlanta to Paris. (Air France) We taxied out to the runway, and sat awhile, and were then notified that the RADAR on the PLANE wasn’t working & they needed to fix it since we’d be flying over the Atlantic at night!! 2 hours later, they said it was fixed, and off we went. Knowing what I do today, I’d probably have clawed my way off that plane if I had to.

[lonestar]

They lived in the Woodlands...nice neighborhood. Neighbors interveiwed on TV were visably upset...some too much to talk. No mention of children.

I think they said he was with an oil company. They were going to Spain.

[PGalt]

Thanks for the ping; link to the original thread and list.

[skinkinthegrass]

thanks, for the ping.

[Peter Horry]

“Harris is a very common name in Houston.... I wonder if they’re related to dentist-murderere Clara Harris?”

You can see information on the couple here http://www.thestate.com/local/story/810382.html , some information on the crash, put doesn’t seem to be anything new.

[AFreeBird]

The Europeans do not know how, or care, to design seats that are of any comfort on overseas flights.

I've heard that complaint about Boeing too. The fact of the matter is: Airlines, not the plane mfg's, are responsible for choosing interior components and layout.

[Peter Horry]

Here is some new information http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/810622.html , they think they have found the wreckage.

[AFreeBird]

but, it is only good at higher altitudes when the pilot can point the nose of the plane down and gain airspeed....

I would think that since the RAT has to be used for landing; low speed, low alt., and nose up, that having to point the nose down would not be that large a requirement. If you have enough airspeed to keep the plane in the air, you should have enough air to turn the turbine for the required power.

[Dubya-M-DeesWent2SyriaStupid!]

6 AMERICANS ONBOARD

Air France has a released a list of the nationalities of those aboard flight AF447 which disappeared about 300km northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, at 0220 GMT (11.20pm BET).

Brazilian and French passengers top the list for most number of passengers onboard the missing aircraft.

The plane, an Airbus A330-200 with 216 passengers and 12 crew onboard departed Rio de Janiero at 7pm local time (10pm GMT) and was due to arrive at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle 2 airport at 11.15am local Paris time (0915 GMT).

A crisis center has being set up at Charles de Gaulle where the plane had been due to land at 11.15am local Paris time (0915 GMT).

A massive air search of the coast of Brazil has so far failed to find any trace of the plane.

Brazilian: 80
French: 76
German: 18
Italian: 9
US: 6
Chinese: 5
Hungarian: 4
Spanish: 2
UK: 2
Morocco: 2
Ireland: 2
Angola: 1
Argentina: 1
Austria: 1
Belgium: 1
Iceland: 1
Philippines: 1
Norway: 1
Poland: 1
Romania: 1
Russia: 1
Slovakia: 1
Sweden: 1
Turkey: 1
7 of these are children and 1 baby

Article

[Zeppelin]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A330#Accidents_and_incidents

[TaxRelief]

This sighting is close to “St. Peter and St. Paul Rocks” a small batch of rocky islets with a lighthouse and bunker for scientists.

[TaxRelief]

http://wlol.arlhs.com/index.php?mode=zones&zone=SPP

[Thrownatbirth]

2 hours later, they said it was fixed

Your flight was the post-repair test. :-)

[painter]

Same here. I flew into San Juan once on an airbus. The seat I was in wouldn’t lock in the upright position and when they lowered the landing gear it sounded like it was breaking off.

[AmericanDave]

Probably right about fly by wire in general, but it’s the Boeing philosophy that the pilot can always disengage the computers and have final authority that makes them safer in my opinion.

Remember the airbus that hit the mountains in Germany? They could have pulled out if the computer had let them overstress the airplane. Better to crack the wing spars and miss the mountain I say, but that’s just me.....

[DuncanWaring]

The “into the trees” was an A320.

The A330 fatal incident is described here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A330_test_flight_crash

Q: What’s the difference between an A320 and a chainsaw?
A: 400 trees per second.