Will Fraser, I suspect the news media should do a little explanation to their readers that the BEA reports "pretty good condition" is probably a declaration of a crewman on the vessel that picked it up with perhaps a remark or two from the medic. Broken bones but basically all in one piece is pretty good condition for somebody used to people coming apart and bleeding heavily.
edit - besides, as noted, they said "relatively well preserved" not "pretty good condition". That moots most of my comment just above.
I am beginning to wonder if the BEA formally asked to view the autopsies. I get the impression that the Brazilians are sticklers for procedure. The French may have asked informally relying on their formal status and been "rightly" rebuffed by the Brazilians. A formal request might have turned the trick.
edit- Another issue that I personally have with the report is that it's formally organized and reasonably complete but appears to be "sloppy" with critical informational clues, such as SatCom antenna and satellite used tossed in as after-thoughts. The particular SatCom transceiver used might shed more light on the ACARS communication pattern.
Upon rumination I've concluded that 1 month is a nice time limit for a plane that has faced a deadly mishap under conditions that allow its quick location and recovery of parts. The BEA could have been under such time constraints to meet the 1 month deadline that they didn't have the time needed to tighten up the report with more details on silly things that would not normally affect an investigation. -/edit
I'm willing to see this as a misunderstanding created by cultural differences.
Differences between the legal systems of the two countries involved could have added to the issue.
This is simpler than a growing conspiracy in an internet savvy world. If there is a conspiracy people like the pilots here, the engineers here, the experienced investigators here, and other specialists here would dig out the truth from almost anything they concoct to protect their backsides.
JD-EE
Last edited by JD-EE; 5th Jul 2009 at 22:56.