1. pretty soon i think they will call it a day for this plane crash. amazing that with all that international help, they have yet to recover the boxes. i guess they will rule out sabotage, without any evidence to support that conclusion, and chalk it up to Human Error.
Rescue teams continued hunt Tuesday for bodies of the victims of an Ethiopian plane that crashed into the Mediterranean sea killing 90 people as Beirut was hanging onto hope that a submarine would arrive soon to help in recovering the jet and the black boxes before another storm invades Lebanon.
The Boeing 737 that crashed last week south of Beirut is thought to be at least 1,500 meters beneath the sea.
…French experts are expected to arrive in Beirut at 4:10 pm Tuesday to join crews searching for victims and the black boxes.
A Lebanese army officer said a vessel carrying a submarine was on its way to help. The plane crashed into the Mediterranean sea on Jan. 25 just minutes after takeoff from Beirut in a fierce thunderstorm with all 90 people on board feared dead. Rescue teams have recovered 14 bodies as well as a few body parts and pieces of the plane. Chances, however, of finding survivors has dwindled.
The aircraft’s main body and the two black boxes have not been found. U.S. Navy ship the USS Ramage has picked up signals from the flight recorders at a depth of 1,300 meters.
While the army official said he does not know when the vessels will arrive, Transportation and Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi said the submarine has left and should be in Lebanese waters in the “next few days.”
The government has formally asked the U.S.-based Odyssey Marine Explorations to send a submarine to help in recovering the plane and the black boxes. The civilian ship, Ocean Alert, has also been searching Lebanese waters for the plane’s body and the flight recorders.
2. in other plane crash news, we are looking at Human Error. this is the message.
NEARLY A DECADE after the crash, Concorde trial begins in France. good timing.
Nearly a decade after a Concorde supersonic plane crashed outside Paris, killing 113 people, U.S.-based Continental Airlines and five people are on trial on manslaughter charges. The trial is expected to offer two very different explanations for the airline’s crash.
The Concorde crash on July 25, 2000, shook the aviation world and dealt a blow to an aircraft that was the pride of Europe.
With smoke and flames trailing from its engines, the New York-bound plane went down just two minutes after takeoff, crashing into a hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris. All 109 people on board and four hotel workers were killed. Three years later, theConcorde was taken out of service for good.
3. safety reforms lag a year after NY plane crash
WASHINGTON — Key safety reforms haven’t been implemented nearly a year after 50 people died in the crash of a regional airliner near Buffalo, N.Y., despite promises of swift action from federal regulators and lawmakers.
On Tuesday, just 10 days shy of the one-year anniversary of the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board prepared to cite the probable cause of the accident and make safety recommendations.
The crash is considered one of the most significant accidents in recent years, because it revealed a safety gap between major airlines and the regional carriers they increasingly use to handle short-haul flights. Concerns were raised during an NTSB hearing last May that pilots with low-fare airlines are vulnerable to fatigue, long-distance commutes and inadequate training.
Since then, Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Randy Babbitt has persuaded regional carriers and their major airline partners to make a series of voluntary safety improvements. FAA has also increased inspections of their pilot training programs. But the agency is still drafting regulations to address the most critical safety issues raised by the accident. Final action is at least months away, and perhaps even years.
…On Feb. 12, 2009, Continental Connection Flight 3407 was approaching Buffalo-Niagara International Airport when the twin-engine turboprop experienced an aerodynamic stall and dove into a house. All 49 people aboard and one man in the house were killed. Testimony at last May’s hearing indicated the flight’s two pilots made a series of critical errors leading up to the crash.
more @ wapo
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/02/AR2010020200268.html
