mm43;
I honestly don't believe these guys knew what they were about to run in to.
That would go to the use of and reading/interpretation of the signal of, radar. The radar was always on during the two to four hours it takes to transition the zone/weather so as to anticipate and pick one's path. Even then it got very rough sometimes. The use of radar was discussed in the first AF447 thread. Unless there was some very rare phenomena, (mesoscale event?, as described in earlier posts), these transitions, while never 'routine', are not full of surprises either - this is what makes the accident such an enigma! Wes Wall is entirely correct; the sign is on, the FA's are fully briefed well ahead of time, (most are familiar with the routine). That the F/A seats found, if I recall correctly from the report, were assessed as "not occupied" then, is perhaps evidence for "surprise", but we do not know the reasons why or what. PJ