World | Other World Stories
Flight 447 black boxes prove elusive
French military ships searching for the black boxes of Flight 447 have detected sounds in the Atlantic depths but they are not from the Air France aeroplane's flight recorders, French officials said on Tuesday.
- AP
- Published: 22:56 June 23, 2009
Paris: French military ships searching for the black boxes of Flight 447 have detected sounds in the Atlantic depths but they are not from the Air France aeroplane's flight recorders, French officials said on Tuesday.
The official and French investigators denied a report on the website of the French newspaper Le Monde that French ships had picked up a signal from the black boxes.
The two recorders, key to helping determine what happened to the aeroplane, which plunged into the ocean May 31, will only continue to emit signals for another eight days or so.
French vessels in the search area have picked up noises regularly, but investigation has revealed no link to the black boxes, French military spokesman Christophe Prazuck said.
"The black boxes have not been found. The black boxes have not been located. We're still looking for the black boxes," Prazuck said.
"Regularly they have alerts. They hear noises that could be related to the black boxes so they have to investigate these noises," he added, saying the French authorities "never" have had confirmation that any of the sounds detected were related to the black boxes.
The Airbus A330 came down in the Atlantic after running into thunderstorms en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 people aboard were killed. The cause of the crash remains unclear.
The French air accident investigation agency, BEA, said in a statement yesterday that "no signals transmitted by the flight recorders' locator beacons have been validated up to now."
The BEA said work is continuing "aimed at eliminating any doubts related to any sounds that may be heard, and any findings will be made public."
Last week, BEA director Paul-Louis Arslanian sternly warned against any unconfirmed leaks in the investigation, saying they could mislead the public and unnecessarily worry or encourage the families.
Le Monde said a mini research submarine, the Nautile, dived Monday to search for the boxes based on a "very weak signal" from the flight recorders picked up by the French ships.
Searchers from Brazil, France, the United States and other countries are methodically scanning the Atlantic for signs of the aeroplane. French-chartered ships are trolling a search area with a radius of 80 kilometres, pulling US Navy underwater listening devices.
Share this article
News Editor's choice
-
Africa segment at Dubai film festival
Productions feature interesting mix of genres tackling serious issues
-
Arafat death anniversary remembered
Palestinians mark five years since the death of leader Yasser Arafat
-
What to expect at the Dubai Airshow
We preview what types of aircraft to expect at the Dubai Airshow
