|
Flight AF447 a victim of terrorism?
International News
Terrorism is now being quoted as a possible cause for the AF447 Air France flight disaster leading to the loss of 228 lives. To date no terrorist organisation has claimed responsibility or involvement in the Air France tragedy.
Security sources have confirmed that Air France received a bomb threat for a flight from Buenos Aires to Paris on May 27.
The Associated Press reported that:
"An Air France agency in Buenos Aires received an anonymous phone call threatening Flight 415. He said the plane, a Boeing 777, was checked by security services who found no explosive devices and the plane was allowed to leave the Argentine capital."
An Air France pilot is being quoted in various reports as saying that:
"It is highly likely a bomb went off on board I have flown these jets for Air France for 10 years and the chances of an electrical fault seem unfeasible to me".
A senior pilot contacted by the London Daily News with 1500 hours flying time and holder of an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate said:
"We all know lightning per se cannot bring an A330 down. I've experienced at least 30 strikes at various flights. Turbulence also cannot, per se, bring a nearly new A330 down. Until confirmed, Acars transmission mentions depressurisation. That is the only event that could eventually lead to a catastrophic failure."
Chronology of events:
11 p.m. local time - The pilot sends a manual signal saying the jet was flying through CBs - towering cumulo-nimulus thunderheads.
- 11:10 p.m. - A cascade of automatic messages indicate trouble: The autopilot had disengaged, stabilizing controls were damaged, flight systems deteriorated.
- 11:13 p.m. - Messages report more problems: The system that monitors speed, altitude and direction failed. The main flight computer and wing spoilers failed.
- 11:14 p.m. - The final message indicates a loss of cabin pressure and complete system failure - catastrophic events in a plane that was likely already plunging toward the ocean.
Another pilot contacted by the London Daily News said:
"Pilots are frequently faced with flying through high cloud top thunderstorms (nimbo-cumulus. At that altitude of flight- I cannot remember a plane going down. At lower altitudes there are plenty of crashes (pancake etc)."
South America terrorism analysis
The CIA, Mossad and MI6 have all been aware of active Islamic terrorist threat from South America. An intelligence report published recently stated:
"In the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, Middle East terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hizballah train terrorists and conduct fundraising activities in an area which has a growing population of Middle Eastern and South Asian immigrants. Funds raised in the tri-border area are sent directly to the Middle East to support the operation of these organizations, possibly even the planning and execution of terrorist acts....No doubt funds raised in the tri-border area have made it to the pockets of al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden....The FBI claims Islamic extremist cells linked with Hizballah, Islamic Jihad, and al-Qaeda are operating in Paraguay, Uruguay, and Ecuador."
French and Brazilian officials will be searching the site of the crash today with the strong possibility that the black box recorders will not be salvaged. photo credit: Image of AF447 flight crash area copyright FAB from Aviation Herald
|
