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Was pilot on doomed Air France jet with female off-duty flight attendant?

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Was pilot on doomed Air France jet with female off-duty flight attendant?

Old 8th Jun 2012, 09:53
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Was pilot on doomed Air France jet with female off-duty flight attendant?

The whole title wouldnt fit in the heading:

Was pilot on doomed Air France jet with female off-duty flight attendant when disaster struck which left 228 dead?


Read more: Was pilot on doomed Air France jet with female off-duty flight attendant when disaster struck? | Mail Online



Captain Marc Dubois was 'travelling socially with off-duty Air France employee Veronique Gaignard'

Dubois took more than a minute to return to cockpit after co-pilots lost control in thunderstorm.

By DAMIEN GAYLE

PUBLISHED: 17:06, 7 June 2012 | UPDATED: 07:48, 8 June 2012



The captain in charge of the Air France jet which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 - killing 228 passengers, including five Britons - may have been with a woman when the plane ran into trouble, it has emerged.

Captain Marc Dubois took more than a minute to return to the cockpit of Air France flight 447 after his co-pilots lost control of the plane during a severe thunderstorm.

What delayed the captain has never been revealed, but two sources say that the 58-year-old veteran pilot was travelling socially with an off-duty Air France flight attendant, Veronique Gaignard.


Marc Dubois, captain of the Air France jet which crashed in the Atlantic in 2009, may have been with a woman when the plane ran into trouble. Two sources say he was travelling socially with off-duty Air France flight attendant Veronique Gaignard (right)

Jean-Paul Troadec, director of the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses, France's air accident investigation unit, told ABC News that Ms Gaignard was not part of the investigation.

The agency was 'not interested' in the 'private life of the pilot', Mr Troadec told the news network, which revealed Ms Gaignard's presence on the flight.

Air France 447 had been travelling overnight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on May 31, 2009, when it ran into trouble, crashing into the Atlantic in the early hours of June 1.


Wreckage: Brazil Navy sailors recover debris from Air France flight 447


Disaster: The aircraft was in an aerodynamic stall, but the pilots failed to push the nose down to correct it

Black box recordings revealed that Dubois was on a routine break as the plane entered a tropical storm, leaving his two co-pilots - David Robert, 37, and Pierre-Cedric Bonin, 32 - in charge.

As their Airbus A330 rolled from side to side in the storm's turbulence, Bonin and Robert - who respectively had 2,900 and 6,500 flying hours between them - were unable to bring it under control.

They desperately called on Dubois for help, but for reasons that have never been completely explained, it took him more than a minute to return to the plane's cockpitBonin was in control for most of the descent, while Robert took over one minute from impact.

The emergency began with a stall warning two-and-a-half hours into the flight, and nine minutes after Captain Dubois had left the cockpit for his regulation rest.

Although Bonin had told flight attendants to prepare for a 'little bit of turbulence', the report highlighted the fact that passengers were never warned about how serious the situation had become.

Instead the Airbus climbed to 38,000 feet and then began a dramatic rolling movement, with Bonin simply getting passengers to fasten their seat-belts.
Those on board included Bonin's 38-year-old wife, Isabelle, who was travelling without their two boys, aged 8 and 4.

A detailed analysis of two black box flight recorders from the plane has established that airspeed sensors had malfunctioned - probably because they had frozen up.

In itself, this was a problem which could have been dealt with, but the co-pilots had failed to deal with a high-altitude stall.


The terrifying end of Flight 447 involved a three-and-a-half minute plunge at 120mph, in the dark, belly first, with the nose slightly elevated.

'It seems that the pilots did not understand the situation and they were not aware that they had stalled,' Mr Troadec told ABC.

All those on board - who came from 32 nations, including five from Britain, three from Ireland, and two from America - died after the plane hit the sea at a speed of 180 feet a second.


Read more: Was pilot on doomed Air France jet with female off-duty flight attendant when disaster struck? | Mail Online

Last edited by donnlass; 8th Jun 2012 at 09:55.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 09:58
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Who Cares,

I would have thought 1 minute to get out of your bunk and re-appear in the flightdeck would be relatively quick whether he was shagging someone or even just sleeping.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:05
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As stated it was a 'regulation break'. Two experienced first officers were left upfront, in cruise.

I find it astonishing that someone would even consider bringing this theory up.

Obviously an agenda somewhere, probably legal. What a world
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:07
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Along with several other enthusiasts posts your are deleted and most
banned from the forum. You are the worst type - an accident
junkie/ghoul

Rob PPRuNe Admin

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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:12
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Obviously an agenda somewhere
No, just a story from an utterly newspaper.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:24
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The Daily Mail. Quality journalism.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:26
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I think it is quite disrespectful really to even consider this as a point of theory. 1 minute is not a long time especially when he was on a regulation break.

Like fellow posters have said - just someone trying to whip up a story out of nothing.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:28
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I find it astonishing that someone would even consider bringing this theory up.
This is not someone, it's The Mail, also know as the worst scum ever to tread the surface of the earth.
I sincerely hope the surviving family of the Captain sues the pants off them for defamation.

Ciao,

Dg800

Last edited by Dg800; 8th Jun 2012 at 10:29.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:33
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It's muck raking of the worst type. What he was doing during a legitimate off-duty break is utterly irrelevant. There are plenty of reasons to point fingers at AF management for poor proecdures and practice, but this is not one of them. And as others have said, one minute from sleeping to being on the flight deck and alert enough to assist is very quick.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:33
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As about as scurrilous as newpaper journalism gets. My contempt for this loathsome newspaper is complete.


Caco
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:56
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Dear god, gutter press at its absolute worst. Does it even matter? Leave the dead to rest in peace, Daily Mail scumbags. Pathetic.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 10:56
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This "info" is not new and was briefly discussed in French pilots forums very soon after the accident. Basically : so what ?

What the Capt did during his break was up to him, sleeping , chatting with pax or entertaining a girl friend, who really cares!
But Direspectful for the families left behind for sure. especialy divulging the names . Nothing but disgust !
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 11:07
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Must be a slow news day.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 11:08
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Absolutely agree with the posters above.

You know, in my career I have spent a lot of time with my off-duty coleagues, male and female, both on the aircraft and off.

So what? Totally irrelevant. Trying to make something out of nothing.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 11:11
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Typical of the medias today... What a shame!

I agree with all the comments posted so far and to bring up the woman's name is very, very low indeed.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 11:24
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A new low by the Daily Liar.
You can't sue them as they have posed it as a question not a 'fact'. They do it every day. Either that or they post a headline in quotation marks.

EG. Is the Mail a garbage newspaper full of the lowest of the low journo scum?

Littlejohn's editorial regarding the female Red Arrows pilot was particularly loathesome.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 11:28
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Daily Wail - move to JB, please...

;-)
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 11:40
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Before beating up on the Mail, a very long video that aired on ABC on June 6:

Nightline 6/6: Air France 447 Crash Investigation Full Episode - Nightline - ABC News
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 12:24
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It would thus seem that Nightline are a pack of jerks as well.

This isn't news.
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Old 8th Jun 2012, 12:39
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Utterly shameful reporting considering the slandered party cannot defend himself.

Disgusting and inexcusable.
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