Date- 1 June 2009 Summary- Entered high altitude stall, impacted ocean Site- Atlantic Ocean near waypoint TASIL [1] 3°03′57″N 30°33′42″WCoordinates: 3°03′57″N 30°33′42″W Passengers- 216 Crew- 12 Fatalities- 228 Survivors- 0 Aircraft type- Airbus A330-203 Operator- Air France Registration- F-GZCP Flight origin- Rio de Janeiro–Galeão Airport Destination Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport Air France Flight 447 (abbreviated AF447) was a scheduled international flight from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, the Airbus A330-203 airliner serving the flight crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the deaths of all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew.[2] The accident was the deadliest in the history of Air France.[3][4] It was also the Airbus A330s second and deadliest fatal accident, and its first in commercial passenger service.[5] While Brazilian Navy authorities were able to remove the first major wreckage and two bodies from the sea within five days of the accident, initial investigation was hampered because the aircrafts black boxes were not recovered from the ocean floor until May 2011, nearly two years later.[1][6] The final report, released at a news conference on 5 July 2012,[7][8] stated that the aircraft crashed after temporary inconsistencies between the airspeed measurements – likely due to the aircrafts pitot tubes being obstructed by ice crystals – caused the autopilot to disconnect, after which the crew reacted incorrectly and ultimately led the aircraft to an aerodynamic stall from which they did not recover.[7][9][10]
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 09:37:15 +0000