@PID: D'Bridge 3.59
@CHRS: IBMPC 2
PARIS (Reuters) – Pilots wrestled with the controls of an Air France
airliner for more than four minutes before it plunged into the Atlantic
with its nose up, killing all 228 people on board, French investigators
said Friday.
 
The 2009 emergency began with a stall warning two and a half hours into the
Rio- Paris flight and nine minutes after the captain had left the cockpit
for a routine rest period.
 
The Airbus A330 jet climbed to 38,000 feet and then began a dramatic three
and a half minute descent, rolling from left to right, with the youngest of
three pilots handing control to the second most senior pilot one minute
before the crash.
 
The timeline was described in a note by France's BEA crash investigation
authority, which said it was too early to give the causes of the crash
ahead of a fuller report in the summer.
 
"These are so far just observations, not an understanding of the
events," BEA director Jean-Paul Troadec told reporters.
 
The captain returned after "several attempts" to call him back to
the cockpit but was not at the controls in the final moments, according to
information gleaned from black boxes.
 
By the time the 58-year-old returned, just over a minute into the
emergency, the aircraft was plunging at 10,000 feet a minute with its nose
pointing up 15 degrees and at too high an angle compared to the onrushing
air to provide lift.
 
The BEA said the reading of black boxes hauled up from the Atlantic floor
earlier this month suggested the crew were not able to determine how fast
the plane was flying.
 
That echoes earlier findings which suggest the pitot tubes or speed sensors
on the plane may have become iced up.
 
It also said that crew mainly responded to stall warnings by attempting to
lift the nose of the plane, without elaborating.
 
Experts say pilots typically push the stick forward to cope with a stall to
close the angle with the air and regain lift.
 
Air France said it would make a statement later Friday.
 
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A stall ... in full flight ... wowwww ...
 
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--- D'Bridge 3.59