Air France Airbus A-330 Missing over Atlantic

Most of you probably heard or read of the Air France Airbus A-330 that went missing yesterday over the Atlantic. A lot of people who know me tend to ask me "what do I think?" when something like this happens. Well, first of all, no-one has all the information quite yet, and given the probable location of the "crash", we may never get all of the information. Second, one of the very first things you learn about accident investigations is never jump at the "red herring". So I am going to refrain from trying to come to any sort of conclusion on the subject. It is sad, yes. We can learn from it and get safer. Here are a couple of interesting pictures and links, for those of you who may be interested.

Airbus A-330 information


Credit for this photo must go to Airliners.net, Gabriel Widyna
(According to reports, this is a picture of the accident aircraft)



Having said all of that, there was severe weather in the area. The closer you get to the equator the stronger and more developed these storms become. If you think Texas Thunderstorms are strong, you should see these over the Atlantic near the equator. 35,000 feet, the supposed cruising altitude of the Air France flight, would not have been high enough to go over these boomers.

I have heard references to the fact that the aircraft had only two engines, and that this reduced the margin of safety for the flight. I can assure you that this aircraft was certified for, and had adequate performance, to fly on only one engine for a very long way.

Some people have speculated that lighting strikes took down this airplane. I don't know. I have flown aircraft that have been struck by lightning, and I have been in aircraft while they have been struck by lighting. It has never caused more than minor issues and a required maintenance inspection, even on aircraft with some very advanced avionics.

The overall theme I am trying to impart here is be patient. Don't jump to conclusions until you have more data. It is a very sad situation, and an enormous tragedy, but we have no choice but to move forward and try to make sure nothing like this happens again.