Dutch wrote:-
In my post #1383 I referred to the overview map of retrieved items on page 37 of the 1st BEA interim report. In the French version there are three items depicted east of LKP; in the English version (same page) there is no trace of those items.
I remember commenting on this sometime ago, and came to the conclusion that the items you have mentioned were probably removed from the English version due to them positively being identified as not belonging to AF447. Meanwhile, the French version update got forgotten.
In the rehashed French version of the graphic below, those items are circled in cyan, while there is an item marked "07" in the same color near the LKP. That item has been queried by me in the past, and I am now of the opinion that its position had been mistranscribed by someone mistaking a handwritten 3.66 for 3.11 (or more likely - 3,66 for 3,11), which would place its position close to that of the V/S and other debris recovered on 07 June 2009.
The Port Outer Spoiler's position is also noted, though I have expressed doubts previously and believe it is the Starboard Outer.
The Pollution Spot is also identified, and I'd make the comment that even though there has been discussion in Appendix 7 on the wind-drag, no mention has been made of the effect of surface currents in the area during the previous 30 hours. The shape of the "oil-slick?" could also be as a result of kerosene escaping under increasing pressure as the remnants of the aircraft sank. I believe the nature of the impact was such that the wings may have remained substantially intact, and the fuel tank bladders though probably ruptured only gave up the majority of the fuel as the aircraft sank. This could well account for the "cusp shape" formed when the kerosene made it back to the surface - bearing in mind that the trajectory of sinking wreckage could be extremely variable.
Having said that, no one has conclusively determined what the surface current was doing in the immediate area of the LKP at or shortly after the crash, and evidence presented in the Report provides tracks for a number of surface drifters, but for different positions and times. The surface currents in this area have been found to be extremely variable and what may happen to similar objects placed in the water at the same time but say 10 NM apart can be "mind boggling".
So in summary, there is nothing to positively identify this Pollution Spot as being related to AF447, and my comments should only be taken as conjecture.
mm43