French aircraft accident investigators in December plan to issue a second preliminary report into the crash of Air France Flight 447.

The accident investigating office, the BEA, also says it is wrapping up work to prepare for a third phase of searching for wreckage of the Airbus A330-200 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean during the night of May 31 to June 1 killing all 228 onboard. Large parts of the aircraft remain to be recovered, as well as the cockpit voice and flight data recorders. The new search will probably begin in January, says BEA director Jean-Paul Troadec, who took over the organization on Oct. 5.

Accident investigators are continuing to sift through the information they have been able to obtain. None of the findings of recent weeks contradict what was initially laid out when the BEA issued a first report in July, says Alain Bouillard, lead investigator. That document stated that the aircraft hit the ocean surface intact, impacting fuselage first with a high rate of downward velocity.

The report isn’t completed, but Troadec indicates it will provide more detail in several areas, including a fuller analysis of the Acars fault messages the A330 transmitted in the final minutes before all contact with the aircraft was lost.

More updated weather information also will be included, as well as analysis of other incidents in which aircraft suffered unreliable speed information — the National Transportation Safety Board also is scrutinizing several such A330 incidents.

Investigators also are still assessing what they can ascertain from autopsies. The reports compiled by Brazilian authorities are now in French hands, but they are written in Portuguese so they must first be translated. Investigators also will then look at where each of the identified passengers was sitting to determine if their injuries and seat location can provide additional clues as to the cause of the crash.

The BEA itself has yet to commence extensive simulator sessions to find clues as to the cause of the crash. They indicate that it is possible to replicate the Acars fault messages, but in the absence of proper information on weather and other circumstances, just replicating the Acars reports is not particularly useful, one investigator argues.

So far, the French government has spent about €10 million (US$14.9 million) on the investigation, with estimates for the third search phase ranging around €10-20 million. Airbus has indicated it would help finance the third phase of search operations.

Troadec says the focus now is trying to pinpoint exactly where the aircraft went down, what the best assets might be to conduct the next phase of the search, and then making sure they are available. French officials are also in talks with German, Brazilian, U.S. and Russian authorities about providing information and assistance for further salvage operations.

Photo: Philippe Delafosse