Air France flight disappears

Yeah, I get that the bodies are long gone by now. "Find them" was a poor choice of words. But if there were Americans onboard, I think we have an obligation to help find out what happened. If there were no Americans onboard? Not so much.

 

An airplane does the same thing I guess. Crazy stuff.

But if you think that energy is neither created nor destroyed...

 

A couple of items from the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8076848.stm

• A loose breakdown of the passenger list. Some execs already ID'd, doesn't look as any Americans onboard.
• France has asked for US satellite assistance.
• French president noting that the search area is immense, since they have no idea when the plane went down, and finding the crash will be very difficult.

 

We can't look unless we're asked to help. I'm sure we'll offer assistance but if they decline the help that's not our fault.

 

Also, in a sidebar from that BBC story, some notion of our radar/satellite coverage question.

So, it sounds like there is satellite coverage, but it's passive coverage, not active. Probably little help in determining where the flight went down, other than the location at the time it sent that one text message (if location is indeed part of the message).

 

If there is an electrical outage, wouldn't that depressurize the cabin and cockpit?

 

Then we help them.

As human beings, we help them.

 

Um, we weren't going to?

 

Wherever the plane hit water there will be floating debris. It won't all sink to the ocean floor at once.

I'm leaning away from a lightning strike damned hard at this point.

 

Even the floating debris, at this point, will be a vague indication of where to find the engines and other, heavier materials (like the black box), though, given the currents and all the time that's passed.

 

I don't think it's that bad. We take lots of precautions, especially when refueling with the rotor turning. We ground the helicopter, turn off certain lights and don't transmit on radios, etc.

We also have little feelers that hang off the back of the aircraft to discharge static when we're near the ground. Sort of like curb feelers you'd see in the 80s on big hoopties.

 

Not to start a pissing match or anything, but if this were a U.S.-based carrier flying from JFK to Heathrow with a half-dozen Frenchmen on board, would you want the French navy coming in and sticking its nose in?

The U.S. should only get involved if asked to by the relevant authorities.