Originally Posted by
Jazz Hands
Wasn't the A310 similarly pitching and rolling over the ocean in the dark with few visual references? The animation is only set in daylight to aid the viewing.
Firstly, this was an accident that occurred during approach phase, thus even if the animation wasn't using day-for-night, there would be external references (runway lights etc.).
Secondly, you've got to be careful with these animations, especially when dealing with a non-technical audience (such as a jury). The reason for this is that the animation could mislead such an audience into thinking conditions were more (or indeed less) favourable than they actually were. How many people, for example, will see that animation without reading the article and assume the crash happened in daylight? I recall an early animation where the animators involved used a little artistic licence to place a visible bolt of lightning at the same time lightning was mentioned on the CVR, and this jeopardised the case because neither the type nor location of the lightning were ever determined.
All the 3D forensic animations of aviation accidents and incidents I've ever seen have tended to be during departure and climb or approach and landing phases, presumably because there are sufficient visual references to aid understanding during these phases. I don't think I've ever seen one (as in a 3D representation) for a cruise-phase accident over water. There's a mockup of EgyptAir990 doing the rounds on YouTube, but it looks to me like a third party put it together.
Finally, the animation linked above appears to be made using off-the-shelf software (
Flight data visualization & animation software: CEFA FAS) which is intended for FOQA and pilot training purposes, but even CEFA themselves don't advertise it as suitable for official forensic analysis. Truth be told, even with the lo-res FDR graph images in the AF447 report, with sufficient time someone could transcribe the plotted values and run it through CEFA, but it wouldn't tell us anything we don't already know.
Anyways, this thread is not about AF447, there's several that are and this discussion really belongs there.
EDIT: Hope he doesn't mind, but here's another take on the subject (from the Asiana/SFO thread):
I do flight data analysis and know that images and videos created from "data" have both the power to easily convince a credulous and information-seeking audience but can also be significantly in error and can draw parties to incorrect conclusions.