Originally Posted by
lomapaseo
Instead of all these what-if combinations I would prefer to parse the discussions down to the supporting facts at this time with no more than one leap of speculation beyond what is known.
Question. Do we know the length and spread of the debris trail ?
does that give us a hint of the attitude of the plane during break-up?
For those unfamiliar with Texas geology, I'll provide a brief description of the soil in and around Trinity Bay, hoping it makes understanding the conditions which exist at the impact site easier to visualize.
Basically it's a very deep layer of dark, stiff clay, with little else except some loam around creek beds and occasional fractured blue clay. There is very little sand on the coastal beaches of the bay area, and the impact area consists of marsh grasses and the dark clay already described, with the surrounding water levels between one and three meters.
Recovery of recording devices and airframe debris may be extremely difficult, especially if specific parts suspected of failure are to be located. I was a bit surprised that the bodies of two crew members have already been recovered, I hope this provides a degree of comfort to loved ones.