O.K. Here it is. Regarding the Weather transmission from the flight, misreported/mistranslated in the media as "hard turbulence" seems was earlier reported by this French Media outlet:
French Media wx trsmsn
Using my trusty Google translator here:
Translation via Google
I get:
At 23 hours, twenty minutes before the entry of the Airbus in the airspace of Senegal, the pilot sends a message that crosses a zone of severe turbulence in cumulonimbus clouds charged with electricity and winds. Weather satellites attest
well, not perfect either...... but what do you expect from a computer?
Here's the source statement:
A 23 heures, soit vingt minutes avant l'entrée
prévue de l'Airbus dans l'espace aérien du Sénégal, le pilote envoie un message signalant qu'il traverse une zone de fortes turbulences, dans des cumulo-nimbus chargés d'électricité et des vents violents. Les satellites météo attestent
Anybody Speak French? Wanna confirm that the google translation is right?
Thanks,
So it seems "Severe" is the word we are dealing with here. Ten minutes before the chit hit the fan.
Crunch - Out