Bodies found in AF447 crash, plane likely broke apart in midair

With post-mortem exams now complete on 16 of the 50 bodies found from the Air France flight 447 crash, it now appears that the Airbus A330 broke apart in midair, although an explosion is unlikely.

As investigators continue to gather information on the crash and more debris is sorted, post-mortem examinations of the bodies from the crash found no burn marks or traces of smoke, which rejects the supposition that the plane exploded.

The victims’ bodies were found in two trails some 50 meters apart, suggesting that the plane broke apart in midair.  Lack of water in the victims’ lungs also indicates that they did not drown.

While the search for the black boxes of the aircraft continues, investigators have suggested that inconsistent readings from the Airbus A330 airspeed sensors could have attributed to the fatal crash, as ice-clogged probes could have sent the aircraft into a storm too fast, or too slow.

Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Air France CEO, has expressed his doubts on whether the sensors could have brought the plane down, but has changed all anemometric sensors on Air France Airbus A330 planes as a precaution.

“The first replacements [of the sensors] arrived practically on the eve of the accident, on the Friday,” notes Mr Gourgeon.

 “I am not convinced that speed sensors were the cause of crash.”

What cannot be denied was that 24 automatic electronic messages was sent out over a four-minute window from the cockpit control panel warning of systemic failures and other warnings.

Two weeks have now passed since the fatal AF447 crash and black box beacons are believed to have another two weeks before their locator beacon signals begin to fade.

228 passengers and crew lost their lives on the fatal flight and the world aviation industry waits with bated breath to discover why a well-maintained four-year old aircraft appears to have suddenly fallen out of the sky.