[QUOTE=noske;10401664]
I also agree that the recorders will be found eventually. It looks like most of the wreckage array is in a marshy area with varying water depths. This is a most difficult type of terrain in which to work: too deep to walk (slog through the mud), too shallow to swim. The Atlas Air B-767 crash site looks very similar to the ValuJet 592 crash site, which was in the Florida Everglades, west of Miami.
I've not previously posted on this Forum because I'm neither a currently rated pilot nor much of an expert on anything that really matters; however, I was extensively involved in the recovery efforts and investigation of the ValuJet Flt. 592 crash (May 11, 1996). The two major difficulties that were encountered were having to slog through the mud, crud and debris and the unsuitability of a standard airboat to support such an operation. It may be different now, but back then, the average airboat could only transport three people and was relatively unstable, making it difficult to get on and off the boat. We were lucky in one major respect, because an airboat tour operator (Everglades Holiday Park as I recall) volunteered the use of one of their 40 passenger airboats and operator. This really helped out a lot, since we could transport the guys from the levee to the site safely, and the boat was stable when folks were going into the water and getting back onto the boat. It was also extremely important that no other airboats operate in the recovery area, since their propwash would blow heavily contaminated (mostly biological) water onto other boats and onto the guys in the water.
As I recall (after the first day, things seemed to all run together in my memory), the first data recorder was not recovered until almost a week after the crash. I also recall that no pinging from the recorders was ever detected. Anyway, I have a great deal of respect for the job that the NTSB does and understand that while they seem to slow in issuing their findings, they are extremely effective in finding the causes of accidents. The unsung "heroes" in aircraft crash investigations are the folks (both law enforcement and civilian) who are actively involved in recovery efforts, and who, depending on circumstances, are totally unprepared (both physically and psychologically) for what they must do. Insofar as the ValuJet crash was concerned, it started the day of the crash with our MIA Terminal Operations folks who counseled bereaved relatives friends etc. all the way to the guys on the levee decontaminating recovered debris, to the Medical Examiner's Staff who did a remarkable job of identifying remains (so that loved ones could have closure).
I apologize for this somewhat rambling account, and I could go on and on, but I won't.
Cheers,
Grog