Bermuda Triangle
June 5th 2009 19:55
Contact with the Airbus was lost four hours after it left Rio de Janeiro for Paris on Sunday night as it approached the
notorious area.
Meteorologists believe that, moments after sending a routine message to air traffic control reporting the Air France jet was entering bad weather, the three experienced pilots were sucked into a maelstrom of 120mph winds, huge hail stones and ferocious lightning.
French meteorologist Pierre Lasnais said the area is prone to storms and lightning plus mini-cyclones which create strong up-currents, as well as hailstones that can be bigger than tennis balls.
“Violent thunderheads over 50,000ft high can pound planes with hail and high winds, causing structural damage if pilots cannot get around them,” he said.
No major planes have vanished in the Black Cauldron for decades – until flight AF 447 fell victim.
Now there are worries that the Black Cauldron could become another Berm-uda Triangle – the region to the north of the Caribbean where a number of aircraft and ships disappeared in mysterious circumstances.
An aviation expert said: “Once, any sign of a storm in that region would have struck fear into the hearts of pilots.
Only the bravest – or most foolish – would venture near it.
“Pilots have become very confident that their hi-tech aircraft can handle anything – but nature still packs a few surprises. It likes to remind us once in a while just what it is capable of.
“The Bermuda Triangle may normally win the headlines, but the Black Cauldron can strike from nowhere out of
calm seas and make you disappear without trace.”
notorious area.
Meteorologists believe that, moments after sending a routine message to air traffic control reporting the Air France jet was entering bad weather, the three experienced pilots were sucked into a maelstrom of 120mph winds, huge hail stones and ferocious lightning.
French meteorologist Pierre Lasnais said the area is prone to storms and lightning plus mini-cyclones which create strong up-currents, as well as hailstones that can be bigger than tennis balls.
“Violent thunderheads over 50,000ft high can pound planes with hail and high winds, causing structural damage if pilots cannot get around them,” he said.
No major planes have vanished in the Black Cauldron for decades – until flight AF 447 fell victim.
Now there are worries that the Black Cauldron could become another Berm-uda Triangle – the region to the north of the Caribbean where a number of aircraft and ships disappeared in mysterious circumstances.
An aviation expert said: “Once, any sign of a storm in that region would have struck fear into the hearts of pilots.
Only the bravest – or most foolish – would venture near it.
“Pilots have become very confident that their hi-tech aircraft can handle anything – but nature still packs a few surprises. It likes to remind us once in a while just what it is capable of.
“The Bermuda Triangle may normally win the headlines, but the Black Cauldron can strike from nowhere out of
calm seas and make you disappear without trace.”
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