Chilling last words of pilot before Air France flight 447 crash that killed 228 people
It's been 14 years since Air France Flight 447 from Rio De Janeiro Galeao International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport crashed. The flight recorder documented the haunting last words of the pilots.
It’s been 14 years since Air France Flight 447 from Rio De Janeiro Galeao International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport crashed. Recorded cockpit conversations reveal the haunting last words before the flight plunged into the sea.
Co-pilot, David Robert could be heard saying: “F**k, we’re going to crash! It’s not true! But what’s happening?” David or fellow co-pilot, Pierre-Cedric Bonin could be heard saying the chilling words: “F***, we’re dead”.
Minutes later, in the early morning hours of 1 June, 2009 the aircraft plummeted 38,000ft into the Atlantic Ocean killing 228 people. The passengers included five Britons and three Irish doctors.
Despite the 58-year-old Captain, Marc Dubois having over 10,000 flying hours under his belt, including 6,258 as a Captain, he could not prevent the devastating crash.
Weather was typical on that summer’s day yet the flight was heading towards an Inter-tropical Convergence Zone.
Just before 0200, the Captain left the cockpit to rest. The two co-pilots David Robert and Pierre-Cedric Bonin were left to fly the plane. Eight minutes later, the two noticed there was a smell coming into the cockpit.
It was likely the result of a large amount of water and ice being sucked into the engines.
The autopilot and auto throttle disconnected and the First Officer tried to rectify things. The two were trying to understand what was happening amid the flashing and noise of the alarms. By 2.14 the recordings had stopped.
Air France was found not guilty of manslaughter over the deaths. Alain Bouillard heading up the investigation was critical of Dubois.
He said: "If the captain had stayed in position through the Intertropical Convergence Zone, it would have delayed his sleep by no more than 15 minutes, and because of his experience, maybe the story would have ended differently.
It was later revealed that the Captain’s tiredness was likely related to him being up all night the night before with his lover, who also died on the flight. It took two years for the details to finally emerge.
