BOAC,
From the BEA reports to date, it would appear they did not perceive the Wx ahead to be extraordinary.
While the BEA report does provide the number of rotations each of the pilots had flown on South American sectors, it does not indicate when these rotations were flown, and on what sectors. So their actual experience in transiting the ITCZ over various seasons is yet to be revealed, and may never be.
If the time had been daylight, and they had seen a Cb towering 20,000 feet above their FL ahead on the airway, I suspect they, like nearly every pilot, would have deviated off the track, and put their plane at a safe distance from that cell. What might be the appropriate, one adjective characterization of a pilot who would fly into a Cb whose top is 15 or 20 thousand feet above their FL in the cruise?
I don't know whether the BEA will ever provide more information on AF459 following on the same airway 35 minutes behind, and compare the reaction and response of the AF459 cockpit to that of AF447. It might be quite telling.
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Given the relatively higher percentage of cabin crew bodies recovered floating, unless they were in crew rest modules, it would suggest that the cabin crew were not instructed to take their seats and tighten the straps. More about this will be known once the autopsies and identifications are completed on the 100+ bodies retrieved in their seats.
Last edited by SaturnV; 26th Jun 2011 at 23:25.