Advertisement
This Article is From Jun 09, 2009

Air France plane disaster: Tail fin found

Air France plane disaster: Tail fin found
AP image
Paris: A Brazilian search team has recovered a large tail section of the Air France jet that crashed a week ago over the Atlantic. The Brazilian military released photos of divers securing the tail fin, which was painted with Air France colours. Officials did not comment on what it was. But a video posted on the Air Force website apparently of the same object was titled "vertical stabilizer found", also known as the plane's tail.

Meanwhile, at least 24 bodies of Air France flight 447 have been recovered from the Atlantic. That may help give friends and family of victims some form of closure.

The French accident bureau revealed that the 24 automatic messages received show an inconsistency in the speeds recorded by different sensors of the aircraft. It's not clear if the humidity and freezing temperatures may have led to speed sensors failing and if that in turn may have resulted in the plane flying at an incorrect speed leading to the crash.

Experts say the bodies and debris will be able to give significant leads into how the accident occurred.

"You might be able to tell from the body at what altitude the aircraft started coming apart if it indeed did so. You might be able to tell was there a rapid decompression or something like that. On the aircraft part, if it came apart, you might be able to tell from parts you recover, where the strains were," said Robert Wall, International Editor, Aviation Week.

The task of the massive search operation is far from over. Every instrument, every object will help investigators reconstruct the event; as for the families, they are hoping that the hunt will not stop before the remains of all the passengers are recovered.

Meanwhile, family members and friends of the victims of Air France Flight 447 attended a memorial service outside Paris on Monday (June 8) to say good-bye to their loved ones. Under rainy skies they found comfort among the mourners who attended the service at the Notre Dame Cathedral outside of Paris.

The service was held after searchers at the site of the crash found bodies from the wreckage and retrieved a large amount of debris from the plane that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in the worst air disaster since 2001. Relatives and friends were finding it especially difficult to grieve under the circumstances because the bodies aren't there so the families are finding it hard to grieve.

Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world

Follow us:
Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com