Search Efforts
June 8, 2009
The bodies pulled from the water by French and Brazilian search crews, are being transported to the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha by ship. They are expected to arrive there on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday night, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Munhoz, spokesman for the Brazilian air force said the bodies would be flown from the archipelago to the mainland Brazilian city of Recife where dental records and DNA from relatives would be used for identification purposes.
Search teams, who continue to scour the crash area 1,100 meters (700 miles) off the coast of Brazil, have also found luggage and aircraft componenets including oxygen masks and an airline seat.
But the plane itself complete with the data recorders which could reveal what happened during the final moments of flight AF 447, has still not been found.
Arduous search
Strong Atlantic currents and uneven underwater topography -- with a 13,000 foot (4,000 meter) deep plunge and spiking underwater mountain peaks -- make the job of finding the flight data and voice recorders all the more difficult.
France is dispatching a mini-submarine that can explore to a depth of 19,680 feet (6,000 meters) in a bid to locate the aircraft's data recorders before they stop giving out signals three weeks from now.
On Sunday, the US Navy announced plans to send two towable pinger locators -- which can track sounds to a depth of six km (20,000 feet) -- and a 20-strong crew to the area to help in the search.
"The first ship should head to the scene on (June) 10th," Pentagon spokesman and US Navy Commander, Jeffrey Gordon said.
If the data recorders are found, a French research submarine will then be used to recover them.
Airbus had recommended replacements as early as 2007
Without any definitive information as to the cause of the crash, investigators are considering the possibility that on-wing instruments which measure air-speed could have iced over.
These instruments, called pitot tubes, are air-speed sensors and are heated to prevent them from icing up during a flight. Their malfunction could cause a plane to incorrectly speed up or slow down, thereby creating hazardous flight conditions.
As far back as 2007 Airbus sent out a notification that Pitot tubes might malfunction and recommended that they be changed in its A320 airplanes.
Air France said on Sunday that it is speeding up its replacement process, but stressed that the move did not prejudge the outcome of the crash investigation.