A newly uncovered black box recording has disclosed the final words of the pilot of an ill-fated flight that tragically ended with the loss of all 228 passengers and crew members.
On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, departed from Rio de Janeiro’s airport in Brazil, bound for Paris, France.
The journey, however, was cut short as the plane encountered trouble over the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in the tragic deaths of all 228 individuals on board, comprising 216 passengers and 12 crew members.
In the days following the disaster, debris from the Air France aircraft was discovered adrift in the ocean. However, it took search crews two years to retrieve the flight’s black box recorders.
These recorders proved crucial in unraveling the mystery behind the aircraft’s demise over the ocean.
It appears that the plane’s speed sensors had been blocked and frozen as it navigated a storm, causing the systems to generate inaccurate flight data.
The Airbus A330-203’s autopilot was disengaged, and the pilots struggled to interpret misleading information regarding their speed and altitude, leading them to opt for manual control.
Unfortunately, due to malfunctioning systems, Captain Marc Dubois, 58, and his co-pilots David Robert, 37, and Pierre-Cédric Bonin, 32, were misled by erroneous navigation data while contending with a tropical storm.
The aircraft entered an aerodynamic stall, prompting the crew to mistakenly elevate the jet’s nose instead of lowering it.
The plane then began its descent as the pilots exchanged frantic words.
Excerpts from the recorded dialogue reveal that two pilots were asleep when the plane encountered trouble.
“We’ve lost our speeds!” a pilot exclaimed.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” another voice was heard.
Bonin was later heard shouting: “Let’s go! Pull up, pull up, pull up!”
“F***, we’re going to crash! It’s not true! But what’s happening?” Robert then shouted.
The tragic reality became clear when an unidentified voice cried: “F***, we’re dead.”
Could this tragic scenario have been avoided?
According to the Daily Mail, chief investigator Alain Bouillard remarked: “If the captain had stayed in position through the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone, it would have delayed his sleep by no more than 15 minutes, and because of his experience, maybe the story would have ended differently.
“But I do not believe it was fatigue that caused him to leave. It was more like customary behavior, part of the piloting culture within Air France.
“And his leaving was not against the rules. Still, it is surprising. If you are responsible for the outcome, you do not go on vacation during the main event.”
In 2023, a Paris court ruled that Air France and Airbus were not guilty of manslaughter regarding the deaths of those on board.
If you have experienced a bereavement and wish to speak with someone in confidence, you can contact The Compassionate Friends at (877) 969-0010.