How Does This Happen?

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Has anybody else been following the missing Air France jet? I understand how little prop jobs can go missing, but a full sized jet liner carrying 228 people? How on earth does that happen in this day and age? I can't imagine an entire jet just disappearing!

The poor families, they must be so devastated not knowing where their loved ones are, if they are dead or alive. I can only imagine that you would feel they are dead but then feel bad for thinking that and hoping they are alive. Hopefully they will have answers soon.

 

[terri01p]

The Atlantic is a big ocean.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

The Atlantic is a big ocean.

Airplane crashes are very rare but they do happen. The ocean could swallow up that jetliner without much of a trace from the surface. From what I read, they aren't sure exactly where it went down so that makes the search that much harder.

 

[HelenePA]

The Atlantic is a big ocean.

HUGE when you dont really even know where to start looking. I feel so horrible for all those families

 

[Cool-Beans]

The Atlantic is a big ocean.

Exactly.

It's one plane at the bottom of a very large body of water. Maybe a few people still in the water, maybe not...but I'm sure they're hard to find if they're there.

Unless you happen to know the precise coordinates of their location (or want to do a better job by looking yourself), cut the folks who went looking a little slack. I'm sure they're doing the best they can.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Exactly.

It's one plane at the bottom of a very large body of water. Maybe a few people still in the water, maybe not...but I'm sure they're hard to find if they're there.

Unless you happen to know the precise coordinates of their location (or want to do a better job by looking yourself), cut the folks who went looking a little slack. I'm sure they're doing the best they can.

With the last contact from the plane at 35,000 feet going 500+mph, there are no survivors in the water. The report on CNN mentioned how hard it would be to recover a black box from the ocean floor.

This is a tragedy. Prayers to those onboard and their families and friends.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

It's easy to take for granted the kind of communication we have today. Cell phones, radio transmissions, etc. Heck, when I lost my cell phone my we were able to use the Family Locator to find out it was in my apartment! I guess I would have thought that an airplane would have something like that, something that could locate it even if they lost contact.

Those poor families. I'm sure something like this never even crossed their mind.

 

[HelenePA]

It's easy to take for granted the kind of communication we have today. Cell phones, radio transmissions, etc. Heck, when I lost my cell phone my we were able to use the Family Locator to find out it was in my apartment! I guess I would have thought that an airplane would have something like that, something that could locate it even if they lost contact.

Those poor families. I'm sure something like this never even crossed their mind.

Its crossed my mind! Its why I will NEVER travel overseas! Add cruise ships to that list as well... I have nightmares about this!

 

[JohnsPrincess]

Hearing thnings like this makes me crazy. I'm scared enough of flying...and HAVE to fly semi-frequently.
What a nightmare...those poor people and their families.

 

[Andy B]

Its crossed my mind! Its why I will NEVER travel overseas! Add cruise ships to that list as well... I have nightmares about this!

However over 40,000 are killed each year on America's roads.

 

[happygirl]

It just blows my mind, in this days of GPS tracking on phones and what not you would think they would have flight plan they could trace the route??

 

[PatsMom]

They can trace the route but depending on what caused the crash, the plane could have varied from the route while the pilots were doing whatever they could to try to save the plane. Or have a water landing. But as someone said, it is a big ocean. And at the speed they were travelling, if I had a relative on the plane I would be preparing for a memorial service.

Won't stop me from flying though. Still safer than driving. And I love travelling overseas. I've always liked flying Air France and it certainly wouldn't stop me from flying them again.

 

[happygirl]

I just heard on the news that planes get hit by lighting quite often. They aren't sure why it brought this plane down. They also said they think the plane lost cabin pressure

 

[PatsMom]

I also read this morning that they did disappear in a part of the Atlantic not covered by radar which doesn't help in determining the crash site. Also, there was an automated message generated by the plane saying that they had lost electrical power and cabin pressure. Extreme turbulence from the thunderstorms in the area were mentioned. It is very tragic, but not looking good for any survivors. Even President Sarkozy of France has said that the likelihood of anyone surviving is small.

Edited to add - I just saw an announcement on MSNBC that Brazilian searchers are saying they may have located some wreckage. I hope it is true since determining the exact cause of the crash could provide information that could help prevent a recurrence.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

It's easy to take for granted the kind of communication we have today. Cell phones, radio transmissions, etc. Heck, when I lost my cell phone my we were able to use the Family Locator to find out it was in my apartment! I guess I would have thought that an airplane would have something like that, something that could locate it even if they lost contact.

Those poor families. I'm sure something like this never even crossed their mind.

Commercial airlines are equipped with a TCAS system that helps them avoid other air traffic so that does transmit a signal. The flight black boxes are also designed to transmit a signal up to 30 days but if they were damaged in some sort of explosion or if they are laying on the bottom of the ocean then they won't be able to transmit and may never be found.

However over 40,000 are killed each year on America's roads.

Exactly. Yahoo has an updated article about the safety of airline travel. It stated that there were 44 deaths due to commercial airline travel last year and 44,000 deaths due to automobile accidents. Just the quick math tells you that you are 1000 times more likely to die in a car than a plane but how many of us will let that keep us from getting in a car today?

I just heard on the news that planes get hit by lighting quite often. They aren't sure why it brought this plane down. They also said they think the plane lost cabin pressure

There were automatic transmissions that the airplane had some sort of electrical failure and a loss of cabin pressure but there were no mayday calls from the crew. This points to something catastrophic happening to that aircraft where the crew either didn't have time to call for help or wasn't able to.

And, yes - planes are hit by lightning quite often. They are designed to withstand lightning strikes without causing damage to the airplane or the passengers. I've been on planes struck by lightning and it is scary!

 

[happygirl]

I also read this morning that they did disappear in a part of the Atlantic not covered by radar which doesn't help in determining the crash site. Also, there was an automated message generated by the plane saying that they had lost electrical power and cabin pressure. Extreme turbulence from the thunderstorms in the area were mentioned. It is very tragic, but not looking good for any survivors. Even President Sarkozy of France has said that the likelihood of anyone surviving is small.

They are resporting on Fox and Friends they think the found a piece of the plane

 

[Annie68]

Debris possibly from Air France plane found
By MARCO SIBAJA, Associated Press Writer Marco Sibaja, Associated Press Writer
15 mins ago

BRASILIA, Brazil – Brazil's Air Force says it has found airplane seats and other debris floating in the Atlantic Ocean along the path that a missing Air France jet was flying.

Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral says the seats were spotted by search planes early Tuesday morning but that authorities cannot immediately confirm they were from the plane.

Also spotted were small white pieces of debris, material that may be metallic and signs of oil and kerosene, which is used as jet fuel.

The debris was found about 390 miles (650 kilometers) northeast of the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.

The plane disappeared with 228 people aboard.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Exactly. Yahoo has an updated article about the safety of airline travel. It stated that there were 44 deaths due to commercial airline travel last year and 44,000 deaths due to automobile accidents. Just the quick math tells you that you are 1000 times more likely to die in a car than a plane but how many of us will let that keep us from getting in a car today?

I'm another who's terrified of flying- I won't do it. Believe me, those of us with this phobia know it is irrational (that is actually part of the definition of a phobia) and know that "it's the safest way to travel" etc. etc. That doesn't make it any less frightening. I know for me a lot of it comes down to the fact that the first funeral I attended was for two family friends killed on TWA Flight 800. That made a huge impression on me at a very young age and no amount of statistics can change that.

Looking at that stat you are not 1,000 times more likely to die in a car accident. You need to look at it the rate interms of the number of people travelling. More people travel by cars than by planes, so naturally there are many more deaths. Cars are still not as safe as planes, but they are not 1,000 times more dangerous. It would be interesting to see a statistic that takes into account number injured/killed vs. number travelling.

They said they found a debris field and are sending out ships to it. It doesn't look promising, but hopefully it will help provide some closure for the families.

 

[happygirl]

I'm another who's terrified of flying- I won't do it. Believe me, those of us with this phobia know it is irrational (that is actually part of the definition of a phobia) and know that "it's the safest way to travel" etc. etc. That doesn't make it any less frightening. I know for me a lot of it comes down to the fact that the first funeral I attended was for two family friends killed on TWA Flight 800. That made a huge impression on me at a very young age and no amount of statistics can change that.

Looking at that stat you are not 1,000 times more likely to die in a car accident. You need to look at it the rate interms of the number of people travelling. More people travel by cars than by planes, so naturally there are many more deaths. Cars are still not as safe as planes, but they are not 1,000 times more dangerous. It would be interesting to see a statistic that takes into account number injured/killed vs. number travelling.

They said they found a debris field and are sending out ships to it. It doesn't look promising, but hopefully it will help provide some closure for the families.

I'm also scared to death to fly. This story doesn't make things any better

 

[HelenePA]

However over 40,000 are killed each year on America's roads.

I've survived one awful car accident I'm not going to even attempt one of my worst fears ever. Now I will fly over land but not over open water I guess the thought of being out in the ocean with no land insight really does it in for me.. your a speck of a speck in that ocean at least on land they'll find me probably dead but I know I wont be swimming in the ocean with little hope of getting out alive! I've watched too many movies I think