Originally Posted by
uluvbs
I tracked down the news clipping that has been the source of the alleged proof we have that the plane encountered turbulence:
"A Paris airport official told AFP there appeared to be 'no hope' that the jet would be recovered safely.
'In his last communication, the captain said there was turbulence and afterwards contact was lost,' the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity."
I have no idea what this "last communication" was because every single other news outlet says that the last communication took place without the pilot/captain warning of anything at 10:33PM Brazil time with Brazilian Air Traffic Control.
If this was the last contact with the plane, other than the automated signals the plane sent out later on, how does Air France know for certain that the plane encountered turbulence?
The AF A330-200 was only 5 years old and had automatic electronics that sent data to AF in Paris for any repairs that would be needed to be carried out when arriving according to Sky News. Also, the plane was in a "black-out" spot where there were no radio contact to ATC so of course there had been no communication when the horrible accident happened.
Most likely what happened was a series of events which caused the accident and the turbulence itself was not the actual cause but could have played a part in the chain of events.