Hyperveloce made reference in a previous post to a couple of comments reported coming from the BEA and published in the French media. They were:-
"AF447 has never been south, we lost one week" (Le Figaro)
"We assume we had a choice, the choice was to use the few days that we had to follow our program rather than remain in an area where we believe the probability of finding the wreckage relatively low "(M. Troadec in" The Point ")
This leads in nicely to
Machinbird's observation that maybe they have been searching too far out, and the area closer in to the LKP needs investigation.
The above implies that the aircraft lost momentum quickly and was effectively stalled at or near FL350. Should that be the case, was icing of the pitots the problem?? It is possible the a/c encountered extreme turbulence suddenly, an updraft caught the starboard wing causing a left bank in excess of 45°, the A/P disconnected and the crew were left with lack of situational awareness and all hell breaking out around them. Was the nose pitched up and AOA moved beyond the C
L limits and a deep stall resulted? We know the crew went looking for the "bird" - to no avail. The rotation of the a/c could account for the ADIRU disagreements over IAS, but one would have expected blanking of the engine intakes and flameouts. If that was the case, where were the ACARS WNG/FLT messages? The trim tank was probably full, which wouldn't have helped. Not unexpectedly, the final ACARS message is the Cabin Vertical Speed warning generated 5 secs after passing through 7,350 feet at a vertical speed greater than 1,800 ft/min. We don't positively know in what direction the cabin speed was moving, but it wouldn't be amiss at this time to conclude the cabin pressure was "high" and the a/c was descending.
Machinbird has made a point that needs looking at closely.
Finally, and I have asked before, does anyone know the format that Air France AOC positions are transmitted on ACARS. By that I mean, are there parameters other than the position sent? Probably a question to ask in the Tech Log. The BEA have made no comment on the LKP.
mm43