EgyptAir Flight 804

oldman

oldman

Well-known Member
Location
PA
The past few days, I have been wondering what the status of the crash was of EgyptAir Flight 804. Last evening, another retired pilot and I were discussing this accident, which is expected to show that it was caused by terrorism, but still to this date, no wreckage or bodies have been found. Some body parts were discovered and are currently under going DNA testing, but no full bodies, wreckage or black boxes. The plane was an Airbus A-320, which is comparable to the Boeing 737. These two planes are considered to be the workhorses of aviation having the most planes in the air and carrying the most passengers per day.

As a veteran pilot flying for almost 34 years, this concerns me. I feel that it is imperative that at least some wreckage be found and/or the black boxes be recovered. The cause of this crash must be determined, if air safety is to be maintained. Some years back, the Boeing 737 had two planes go down and a third almost hit the ground for the same cause. Thankfully, the NTSB did discover the cause and the problem was fixed. Now, Airbus has the same monkey on its back and the public needs to be reassured that the cause was by terrorism and not by mechanical failure. We do know that the on-board computer, ACARS, reported a change in temperature and smoke in the lavatory, which would lead one to believe that an explosive device may have been detonated.

The pingers on the black boxes, which last for 30 days will soon stop and then it will become a real guessing game as to where the wreckage is laying. As part of the flying public, I need to know what brought this plane down. Planes do not just drop out of the sky.
 

I was just thinking about this the other day. There's not been much on the news here in the past 10 days. Thought that there was a story about hearing pings from one of the black boxes, but nothing in terms of a follow up. The ocean is pretty deep there from what I recall (over 10,000 feet), but at least officials have an idea of where it dropped from the sky, unlike the flight from Malaysia Air. Looks like that may forever be a mystery. Look at the Air France crash over the Atlantic back in 2009. Took two years to find the black boxes.

Agree that we need to find out what happened to this plane. It is amazing though that no group (as far as I know) has claimed responsibility for bringing it down.
 
Oldman, do you think they'll keep on looking for it until they find it? I would think the plane's manufacturer would have a serious interest in finding it, even if the authorities don't. Seems like it would be bad for business to have the question of whether or not there was a flaw in the plane that caused it to crash.
 

Butterfly said:
Oldman, do you think they'll keep on looking for it until they find it? I would think the plane's manufacturer would have a serious interest in finding it, even if the authorities don't. Seems like it would be bad for business to have the question of whether or not there was a flaw in the plane that caused it to crash.
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Just like Bob mentioned in his post, it took over 2 years to recover the black boxes from the Air France crash. It is always imperative to find out what caused the crash, so that future accidents identical to what brought down this plane may be prevented. I think most everyone is convinced that terrorism is to blame here, except for the fact that NO terrorist group has claimed responsibility, which is highly unusual. It took millions of dollars to find the Air France's black boxes. I believe Airbus and France shared the costs. In that accident, pilot error was to blame when the autopilot was disengaged by the computer system and none of the pilots recognized that this had happened. The plane lost speed and an aerodynamic stall was the cause due to the pilots acting inappropriately to what they thought was happening.

Every airliner has an automatic reporting system on-board called ACARS. The computer sends an automatic maintenance report back to the company's maintenance headquarters every hour or two, depending on how the system is managed. ACARS did report smoke in the lavatory and heat in the avionics, which generally indicates an explosion. However, it can't be taken for granted that terrorism was the cause. It is imperative to find the black boxes. I want to know what brought down this plane. I haven't even heard how hard anyone or any agency is looking.
 
The fact that No terrorist organization has bragged about bringing this aircraft down seems to indicate a malfunction of the aircraft itself...or a major pilot error....or perhaps even some lunatic aboard who was able to commit suicide and take the passengers/crew with him.
 
Still looking for the wreckage of Egypt Air Flight 804. This may take a year or longer to find any main pieces of the plane, like the fuselage. They did find some body parts and have checked them against different family member's DNA. I can't even begin to imagine someone handing me a finger and a leg and telling me, "Here is what we found of your father, mother, etc." Having a family member involved in such a horrendous crash is bad enough, but to only get a few body parts to bury would be absolutely unthinkable. It does appear that a bomb on-board the Airbus A-320 will be the determining cause of the crash.

The plane was flying at 37,000 ft. when it was blown out of the sky. Crashes over water always remind me of the old saying, "The ocean does not give up her secrets easily."
 
I have heard so many conflicting reports on this tragedy, I don't know what to think. Last week they were reporting that there were 3 SOS calls prior to their disappearance. You would think there would be some indication of the type of crisis they were having. Other reports say there are indications that it was mechanical failure, while others cling to the idea it was terrorism. I know they found both the black box and voice recorder so hopefully soon we will have more definitive answers.
 
If Egypt alone opens and inspects the data inside the boxes and makes an announcement as to what they believe was the cause of the crash based on their findings, I would be wary of their answer. Egypt does not have a good track record of being truthful about such things. The past proves that they are not to be trusted.
 

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