AF447

[SaturnV]

takata, I see no reference that Atlantico asked AF447 to contact Dakar.

01:35:15 AF447 -AIR FRANCE FOUR FOUR SEVEN, by checking INTOL zero one three three, level three five zero, SALPU zero one four eight, next ORARO zero two zero zero, selcall check Charlie Papa Hotel Quebec.

01:35:38 Atlantico Acionamento do código SELCALL

01:35:43 AF447 -AIR FRANCE FOUR FOUR SEVEN, thank you. [This is the last radio communication from the crew.]

01:35:46 Atlantico -Welcome, maintaing flight level three five zero,
say your estimate TASIL?

01:35:53 Atlantico -Say your estimate TASIL?

01:35:59 Atlantico -AIR FRANCE FOUR FOUR SEVEN estimate TASIL?

01:36:14 Atlantico -AIR FRANCE FOUR FOUR SEVEN say your estimate
TASIL? [This is Atlantico's last attempt to communicate with AF 447.]

Dakar apparently made no attempt to contact AF447 before 0354, when Dakar told Cape Verde it would attempt to contact. It appears that Dakar actually made no such attempt, because Cape Verde subsequently asked Dakar at 0408 where was AF447? and Dakar then asked AF0459 to try and contact AF447. (One has to wonder about the capability of Dakar control.) The BEA report acknowledges that the record is still fragmentary, but the published record includes no information of an attempt by Dakar to establish radio contact with the crew.

AF447 did not provide an estimate for Tasil in the selcall message,and did not reply to subsequent requests from Atlantico for the estimate. Were they considering a deviation after Oraro, and thus re-estimating Tasil? Aside from the SIGMETS, at 0031 dispatch sent the following message:
“BONJOUR AF447
METEO EN ROUTE SAILOR :
o PHOTO SAT DE 0000Z : CONVECTION ZCIT SALPU/TASIL
o PREVI CAT : NIL
SLTS DISPATCH”,