Originally Posted by
Broomstick Flier
Brazilian Air Force just made an announcement with the following facts. Local times(LT) are given based on Brasilia official time (valid for this area)
19:30LT/22:30Z: Departure from GIG
22:33LT/01:33Z: Last contact made on VHF with Cindacta III (Recife Centre) on INTOL position (more or less 310Nm from Natal VOR, on UN873 airway), informing it was estimating TASIL position (around 670Nm from Natal VOR on the same airway) at 23:20LT/02:20Z
22:48LT/01:48Z: Flight left area covered by Recife Centre ATC radar, and it was cruising normally at FL350 with TAS 453KT
23:20LT/02:20Z: No radio contact was made (this time the flight would be already talking to Atlantico Centre on HF) and Dakar Oceanic was informed about this.
Today morning, Air France informed that around 50Nm after TASIL position, the flight informed (my remark: not sure if via SATCOM, ACARS message or both) electrical problems and pressurisation problems as well.
BF
INTOL position is the boundary between Reciffe control and Atlantico control. TASIL position is the boundary between Atlantico control and Dakar control.
AF447 passed INTOL at 01:33 UTC and were estimating over INTOL at 02:20 UTC
No one has said that AF447 had any contact with Atlantico control. This would normally happen as soon as you leave Reciffe control at INTOL.
It appears that the authorities only became concerned when AF447 did not contact Dakar control at TASIL.
Does anyone familiar with this route know if it is normal to transit Atlantico without calling in?
If they were supposed to call Atlantico, but did not, I suspect their problems may have started much earlier that anyone thinks at this point.
