Meanwhile back at the ranch, AF CEO:
He noted that another AF flight entered the area where AF447 was lost shortly after the doomed A330 last relayed information (ATWOnline, July 3) and the pilot of that following aircraft reported that he crossed a turbulent area that had not been picked up by his radar and "he avoided a much worse [area of turbulence] by manually increasing the sensitivity of his radar." He added, "Flight 447 didn't have the good fortune to encounter that first warning," which might have caused its pilots not to adjust their radar and spot the "very active storm" that the A330 encountered.
"We are going to review the way we use radar," Gourgeon said. "Whether or not that was the cause of the loss of Flight 447, we have to examine every factor and improve all of our procedures and rules. "