Tragedy in the Skies. The Final Moments of Air France Flight 447
What do pilots feel when they realise that the plane is about to crash and they can't do anything about it? Insight into this question is provided by the chilling last conversation of pilots recorded by the black boxes of the Air France flight that crashed into the Atlantic. The crash killed 228 people, including 12 crew members and 216 passengers.
The black boxes captured a shocking conversation between Captain Marc Dubois and his co-pilots, David Robert and Pierre-Cédric Bonin. They knew the Airbus A330 they were flying was about to plunge into the ocean.
On 1 June 2009, the Air France flight took off from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. Were 229 people on board, including 216 passengers and 12 crew members. The plane never reached its destination. The pilots were aware they could not avoid the tragedy. In their last, blood-chilling words, fear is audible. They knew they were about to die.
On the black box recording of the plane, one of the pilots said they had lost airspeed. Another voice, sounding worried, responded that they didn't know what was happening. Then, Bonin's voice was heard urging, "Come on, pull up, pull up, pull up!.
— F**k, we're going to crash! It's not true! But what's happening? — Robert shouted.
It's unclear who spoke next. It is only clear that they knew what was about to happen. — "F**k, we're dead" - is heard.
What led to the tragedy of Air France Flight 447?
The French aviation safety agency's report indicates that the crash was due to pilot error and malfunctioning speed indicators. The crew failed to respond properly to incorrect readings from the Pitot tubes' airspeed sensors, which had iced over.
The pilots reacted improperly to the alerts that the aircraft was losing lift. The 225-tonne airplane (converted from 205 tonnes) fell for 4 minutes before crashing into the water. All that remained of the aircraft were remains and the last terrifying conversation of the pilots. In 2023, a court in Paris ruled that Air France and Airbus were not guilty of involuntary manslaughter of the people on board.
