Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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June 3, 2009

French Investigator: Recovery of Air France Flight Recorders in Doubt
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Accu Weather tells VOA Flight 447 may have encountered 161-kilometer per
hour wind updrafts early Monday 
A leading French accident investigator probing the crash of an Air
France jetliner says he is not optimistic that search efforts in the
south Atlantic will produce the doomed plane's flight recorders.
Paul-Louis Arslanian, head of France's accident investigation agency,
during news conference at Le Bourget airport, 03 Jun 2009Speaking
Wednesday in Paris, chief accident investigator Paul Louis Arslanian
said the international probe may not reveal all of the factors behind
the crash of Flight 447. The plane, headed for Paris from Rio de
Janeiro, crashed into the sea early Monday off Brazil's northeastern
coast after flying into heavy storms. All 228 people onboard are
presumed dead. High winds Arslanian says there is no evidence the
jetliner encountered any problems before takeoff, and says an initial
report on the crash is likely by the end of the month. Meanwhile, a lead
forecaster with the worldwide commercial forecasting service Accu
Weather tells VOA that Flight 447 may have encountered 161-kilometer per
hour wind updrafts early Monday, as it flew into a wall of tropical
storms near the equator. Meteorologist Henry Marguisity said the
analysis comes from atmospheric data near the flight path later gathered
by the weather service. He would not speculate about whether the plane
was also hit by lightning. Wreckage found As search efforts expanded
Wednesday, aircraft from Brazil, France and the United States are
scoured the sea surface near the site where plane wreckage was
discovered Tuesday. The aircraft include a U.S. Navy Orion
reconnaissance plane with sophisticated sonar that may help
investigators pinpoint the location of the plane's flight recorders.
However, experts are warning the flight recorders are likely 6,000 to
9,000 meters below the ocean's surface, and say it it unclear whether
salvage equipment could be extended to those depths. Shortly before the
plane vanished, it transmitted automatic signals reporting multiple
failures in its electrical and pressurization systems. Air traffic
controllers heard
 no distress call or any other unusual message from the pilots. Some
information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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