ACARS Messages
A summary of the final messages from Flight 447 is as follows:
(AP) French and Brazilian officials have described a "burst" of messages
from Flight 447 just before it disappeared.
A more complete chronology was published Wednesday by Brazil's O Estado de
S. Paulo newspaper, citing an unidentified Air France source, and confirmed
to The Associated Press by an aviation industry source with knowledge of
the investigation:
_ 11 p.m. local time — The pilot sends a manual signal saying the jet was
flying through CBs — towering cumulo-nimulus thunderheads.
_ 11:10 p.m. — A cascade of automatic messages indicate trouble: The
autopilot had disengaged, stabilizing controls were damaged, flight systems
deteriorated.
_ 11:13 p.m. — Messages report more problems: The system that monitors
speed, altitude and direction failed. The main flight computer and wing
spoilers failed.
_ 11:14 p.m. — The final message indicates a loss of cabin pressure and
complete system failure — catastrophic events in a plane that was likely
already plunging toward the ocean.