Bodies, debris provide vital clues about Flight 447 crash

Though crash investigators suspect that malfunctioning air speed sensors or Pitot tubes could have transmitted unreliable speed data to the main computer system of the plane, causing it to fly at wrong speed - a potentially deadly mistake in severe turbulence, as flying too quickly can damage a plane's airframe, while traveling too slowly can result in loss of lift, produce a stall and loss of control yet they are not willing to make any public announcement on the cause of the crash till the voice and data recorders, which could be thousands of feet below the ocean surface, are recovered, as they could explain how the giant aircraft fell out of the sky from an altitude of about 35,000 feet without any distress calls from pilots.

However, the investigators said the bodies, 50 found so far, and debris recovered from the ocean so far could provide important leads on the cause of the crash.

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For instance, they said the bodies recovered could provide important clues as to whether the plane broke up in mid-air or was intact when it crashed into the ocean.

Initial examination of the bodies, the investigators said, appear to suggest that a massive depressurization could have ripped the plane apart in mid-air. "Most bodies were found naked or with minimal clothing, suggesting the wind may have removed the garments. Multiple fractures on almost all the bodies also suggest that the plane encountered a violent turbulence before it crashed," a senior Brazilian military official said, on condition of anonymity, as he is not supposed to speak on the matter.

The huge distance over which the bodies were found also suggests that the plane broke up in mid-air," the official said.

According to the official, victims' lungs did not contain water "which rules out death due to drowning."

The official also said that absence of burn marks or bomb residues on the bodies also excludes the possibility of an explosion or fire in the aircraft.

Crash investigators said the debris recovered from the site of the crash also reveals clues about the plane crash. Till date, over 150 items of debris, including part of an internal wall with two flight attendants' seats attached, oxygen masks, vertical stabilizer of the tail fin, part of a wing and some personal belongings of the passengers of Flight 447, have been recovered, but not enough to help the investigators reconstruct the aircraft which would enable them to pinpoint the cause of the crash.

However, the most important piece recovered to date is the virtually intact vertical stabilizer, which could give the French Bureau of Accident Investigations (BEA), the French air safety investigation agency, which is leading the investigation, solid clues about what prompted the crash.

A BEA official said the final automated message transmitted by Flight 447 was "cabin in vertical speed," which suggests a sudden loss of cabin pressure, either the cause or the consequence of the plane breaking up in mid-air. "The wide area over which the debris was found also suggests that the plane broke up in mid-air and not as it hit the ocean," the official said.

Agrees William Waldock, who teaches air crash investigation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. According to Waldock, the lateral fracture on the vertical stabilizer of the tail fin of Flight 447 suggests that "the plane broke up in flight."

"If it hits intact, everything shatters in tiny pieces," Waldock said.

Examining the fracture surfaces will also be key, Waldock said, since it will indicate from what direction the force came that snapped the piece.

Absence of visible burn marks on the vertical stabilizer also suggests that the plane probably did not erupt in flames as it went down, Waldock said. However, "any explosion or fire in the fuselage would likely not make its way back to the tail section," he added.

Waldock also said the location where the vertical stabilizer was found could provide clues as to where the black boxes are.

"The data and voice recorders are located in the fuselage near the tail section of the jet. Though they may not necessarily be located near where the debris was recovered, yet finding the tail narrows down the area even further," he said.