[freedumb2003]

>>I don’t think they’ve recovered the “black boxes”, and I haven’t heard that there were any distress calls, so how are they determining this? Pure speculation?<<

Read the OP — they are basing it on the Computer-to-Computer communications.

I suspect there was no reason for the pilots to call in since there was nothing any airport controller could do for them. Better to keep your craft in the air.

[Scythian]

Here’s what happened, it broke apart in flight

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06042009/news/worldnews/jets_horrifying_final_14_minutes_172538.htm

[Brookhaven]

Computer failure?

Someone that knows more fill me in onf “fly by wire”. Is that where everything is controlled by computer/electronics or is that where there is a physical connection (so you can still fly the plane even if the electronics fail)?

I heard some concerns years ago about computer/electronics failures, but don’t know what came of it.