Horrific Freefall into the Deepest Ocean | The Sad Story of Flight 447

what's happening I don't know what's happening we're losing control of the aircraft here we lost all control of the aircraft what you're witnessing is the beginning of one of aviation's greatest Mysteries a top-notch aircraft an experienced crew and a sudden terrifying descent into the unknown this is the story of Air France flight 447 [Music] on May 31st 2009 around 8:00 p. m. local time Air France flight 447 was pushed back from the gate at Rio de Janeiro International Airport in Brazil with destination Paris France the route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crosses the Atlantic Ocean starting in Brazil it travels over the northern Atlantic approaching the mainland of Europe before landing in Paris this flight typically takes about 12 hours the aircraft involved was an Airbus A330 2000 the newest in air France's Fleet it underwent a major overhaul in April 2009 and had accumulated about 19,000 flying hours at the time of the incident two General Electric CF6 engines powered the aircraft with no documented issues on board were 216 passengers of nearly 30 nationalities the majority of passengers were French Brazilian or German citizens the passengers included business and holiday Travelers this aircraft is designed for two pilots however the 13-hour Duty time for the Rio to Paris route exceeds the 10 hours permitted before a break is required according to air France's procedures this Duty time includes flight duration and pre-flight preparation to comply flight 447 was crewed by three Pilots the captain 58-year-old Mark Duo he had almost 11,000 flying hours of which more than 6,000 were as a captain including 1,700 hours on the Airbus A330 the relief first officer co-pilot in the left seat 37-year-old David robar he had more than 6,000 flying hours 4,500 hours were on this specific aircraft type and the first officer the co-pilot in the right seat was 32-year-old Pierre Cedric Bona he had almost 3,000 flight hours with 87 of those hours on this aircraft type at Half 8 local time the Airbus took off the takeoff proceeded normally as expected for a fully loaded aircraft following the standard protocols for their climb and setting the course for their transatlantic Journey conforming to air France's standard procedures around 20,000 ft the relief first officer left the cockpit to begin his 3-hour rest period the captain took over the left seat while the the first officer occupied the right seat a few moments later the flight reached its cruising altitude of flight level 35 the first couple of hours of the flight were largely routine and uneventful at 1:35 a.

m. the flight entered Oceanic airspace over the Atlantic Ocean Northeast of the South American continent during that time of year the Mid-Atlantic region was known for its typical weather patterns characterized by a broad band of thunderstorms stretching across the intertropical Convergence Zone this region is a band of low pressure around the earth that generally lies near the equator the Trade Winds of the northern and southern hemispheres come together here leading to frequent thunderstorms and heavy rain flying through this area is often challenging for Pilots because the thunderstorms don't appear well on radar additional these storms don't have as much lightning as storms in other places which can make them seem less severe than they are especially at night while the aircraft's automated systems manage the flight a primary responsibility of the cockpit crew involves overseeing the flight's progress using the onboard weather radar to avoid areas of significant turbulence Air France flight 447 encountered an area of tropical showers and weak thunderstorms characterized by weak to moderate updrafts and a high likelihood of turbulence the crew discussed their desire to climb to flight level 370 to ascend above the weather but they found it too warm to climb to that altitude warm air is thinner reducing the lift the plane can generate which is crucial for maintaining flight the crew dimmed the cockpit lights and turned on the landing lights to see outside it looks like we're entering the cloud cover it would have been good to climb now it's going to be turbulent for my rest at 2:00 a. m.