SAR Effort
To Heli Sticktime et al
Re-capping the official info released so far regarding the ongoing SAR effort on the Recife ACC and SOLANT ACC area covered by CINDACTA III, what we have is as follows:
a) At 0230LT/01062009 a C-130H staging through SBRF and an Embraer P-95 maritime patrol acft based at SBSV were enlisted to perform the initial SAR effort;
b) On 1908LT/01062009, the following additional SAR assets were called-up:
- 01 x Sikorsky UH-60L Black Hawk to SBNT;
- 01 x SC-95C (SAR version of the EMB-110P2) to SBNT;
- 01 x CASA C-295M SAR-configured acft to SBNT;
- 01 x Eurocopter AS332M SAR-configured helicopter to SBNT;
- 01 x C-130E to SBNT with SAR rescue teams;
- 01 x C-130H to SBFN, backtracking along AF447s flight path from GCLP to SBFN;
- 01 x Brazilian Navy Frigate (with SAR-configured Sea Lynx helicopter);
- 01 x Brazilian Navy Patrol ship;
- 01 x Brazilian Navy Corvette
c) At 1930LT/01062009 an Embraer R-99B SIGINT/ELINT acft was enlisted to aid in the AF447 SAR effort;
d) At 0029LT/02062009 The Brazilian AF stated that the crew of TAM flight inbound to Brazil spotted "luminous points" on the ocean's surface within the boundaries of the Dakar ACC
e) At 0100LT/02062009 Brazilian AF R-99B 6751's synthetic aperture radar plotted metallic and non-metallic debris floating on the ocean surface roughly 650km NW of SBFN;
f) At 0649LT/02062009 Brazilian AF C-130H 2466 and C-130H 2474 made visual contact with debris plotted by R-99B 6751's SAR. The debris fields were approximately 59km apart and roughly south of AF447's filght path. The debris fields contained an aircraft passenger seat, an orange float ou buoy, a drum or cylinder, several small unidentified white-colored items and oil/jet fuel slicks.
Cheers