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Where has the Air France plane gone?

June 5, 2009 15:11 IST

Image: Where has the plane gone?
Photographs: Reuters

Five days after an Air France plane -- travelling from Brazil to France -- sunk into the Atlantic Ocean (or somewhere else), there is no trace. The wreckage -- initially said to be the Air France debris -- was nothing but sea trash, emerging reports indicate. New reports say there is no evidence of the crashed plane.

That leads to a puzzling and mysterious question: Where has the plane gone?

Relatives all at sea

Image: It is a long and agonising wait.
Photographs: Reuters

New reports say the wreckage, said to be of the plane-- may have been of a sunk ship. Another report says oil slick found on the Atlantic Ocean indicates that there was neither a fire nor an explosion.

The search for the plane's Black Box is still on amid conflicting reports about the clash. 

Mystery As Deep As Atlantic

Image: No one seems to have a clue
Photographs: Reuters
  • Meanwhile, a website, quoting Air France officials, has listed the dreaded last moments the passengers must have undergone. 
  • At about 2am GMT, the Airbus' pilot sent a manual signal. The plane was flying through a storm with black, electrically-charged clouds and strong winds and lightning. It battled against winds of around 160kmh.
  •  "There was then for two to three minutes a flood of error messages: The navigation system failed, then display screens went blank."
  •  The computer system was moved to an alternative energy supply.
  •  In the plane, an alarm was sounded. Passengers will probably have been sitting in the dark, expecting the worst.
  •  At 2.13am GMT, all important controls failed. Speed, height and direction could no longer be controlled.
  •  At 2.14am, the cabin pressure dropped. 
  • Then, the flight with 228 passengers on board fell into the Atlantic Ocean. (Or somewhere else). With all the technology around, the world is still seeking the answer.
 
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