“very” don’t survive very well
People that don’t understand how we can lose an aircraft have very little appreciate for how complicated air travel is and how much of a miracle it is that every day, millions of people fly through the air, and make it where they wanted to… most of which end up at their destination on time.
:picard: I think you have “lose” as in crash confused with “lose” as in “we know it’s somewhere between Brazil and Africa, but that’s about it.”
Not really.
It would only take a minor malfunction to lose track of the plane (without it crashing) and then have the plane crash in a large tropical storm over the ocean between “Brazil and Africa” with large waves and currents it really isn’t all that hard to believe.
You do realize that boats “disappear” all the time right?
Which was the point of this thread. The technology exists to easily add a location system not tied into the planes avionics. When modern ships disappear the coast guard almost always has an EPIRB signal to home in on so instead of searching an entire ocean they have a pretty good idea where to start. You add in current maps and computer modeling based on wind direction and it becomes an even smaller area to search.
Unfortunately the area this gets put to the test most often is the Bering Sea, where the cold water, remote locations and extreme weather usually mean no survivors even when the coast guard flies straight to the scene.
GHOST SHIP!!!
Uhm… there is such a system on planes… it’s built into the “black-box”… the problem is transmitting through 12000’ of water…
We are what, 24 hours from the crash?
Yea, they don’t know where it is, nor would they even in your example.
They’ll find the plane.
Implying that they only know to look “Between Brazil and Africa” is not only ignorant, it is making false statements to support your argument. It simply isn’t true.
I’m pretty sure that no one sees what you did there.
And, OMG Oppie(?) Season starts soon!
Ok, I’m done. People obviously reply after reading just the first post. We should change the name of this site to NY attention deficit disorder because it’s impossible to have a real discussion since the A.D.D. prevents people from reading entire threads before responding.
I will say some engineer buddies and I had a great conversation about this over lunch the other day.
:grouphug:
EDIT:
OT, but wasn’t the episode where they spent most of the time talking to the survivors of that sinking some of the best TV you’ve ever seen?
In the end it all comes down to money. The price of a human life has been determined, by the F.A.A. and their international counterparts, the airlines, the airline manufacturers and their respective insurance companies. It’s no big deal, just how the world works.
Cmon LZ. I thought you were a bit sharper then that. Ever seen what the surface of the Mid Atlantic looks like?
I don’t see why they didn’t just put the brakes on, slow down and land on the water. Then at least the people would have a chance to swim or get in a life raft.
Doesn’t anyone think it would be a good idea to install parachutes on the passenger cabin? I mean come on the space shuttle has them.
:eekdance:
.
:lol:
Ever skip stones as a kid? 
:word:
I have… It’s smooth as glass unless high winds are present. There was a storm brewing during this time so 10ft swells are easy to see and would definitely churn up the plane a little
You guys really need to google “406 ELT”
Aircraft already have the same system as an EPIRB. Its just a little harder to find a place on an aircraft that is doing 500 knots and entering water at that speed, to have the unit, and its antenna survive.
Its a little more complicated than a boat sinking over the course of 30 minutes.