PJ2,
Thanks for your comments.
mm43
(1) WX radar faulty or crew didn't detect Cb cell(s). Probably former.
The fact that no ACARS messages were received regarding WX radar faults doesn't necessarily rule out some insidious problem that failed to trigger a fault warning. With regard to the above quote, I agree totally that we know nothing about what went on in the cockpit, but at this juncture I chose to give the crew the benefit of any doubt.
Suffice to say that if penetration of an active mesoscale system took place, then all bets are off and the events I described may or may not bear any resemblance to the truth. In fact, the only thing we do know is that the a/c sent a raft of ACARS messages and finished up in the Atlantic in a wings level, nose up attitude, with little forward velocity, tail yawing to port and a high sink rate. We don't even know where with any degree of certainty.
SaturnV,
Presumably communication about that deviation between LH507 and ATLANTICO should have been overheard by AF447, as AF447 should have been on ATLANTICO's frequency from 0133 until 0220 hours.
Once the SELCAL had checked at 0135 it appears the crew selected SELCAL watch as ATLANTICO's attempts to contact them a few seconds later went unanswered. Why ATLANTICO failed to SELCAL them is another matter. We don't even know if AF447 had selected 123.45, but no one has reported hearing them on either HF or VHF after 0135. A failed ADS-C connection at 0201 with DAKAR OCEANIC is the only evidence of cockpit activity.
mm43