Understanding Air France 447 Read Online Free PDF

the right-hand seat? Also, do you understand why the more experienced co-pilot in the left-hand seat did not take back control of the airplane?”
    Alain Bouillard, Investigator in Charge of the BEA, responded that on his departure, the captain implicitly designated the pilot flying who was on the right as his relief. “It is always the co-pilot flying who relieves the captain.” 7
    First Officer Robert was to take the captain’s place in the left seat. No particular briefing was conducted by the captain to designate who would serve as pilot in command (PIC) as this was apparently implied by the normal procedures. (Air France later revised their policy so that the left seat pilot would be the designated PIC.)
    Typically, the pilots on a long international flight with an additional pilot will divide the flight time to achieve equal break times. Often times the third pilot (occupying the cockpit jumpseat for takeoff) will take the first break, followed by the captain, and then the other first officer for the third break. This schedule is not set in stone, but is common, and it appeared to be the case for AF447. The cockpit voice recording only covers the last 2 hours and 5 minutes so we only know for sure who was in what seat at the first break changeover. It is possible that First Officer Robert was in the right seat for takeoff before he took the first break. Even if that were true, it is insignificant.
    According to Air France policy, the augmented crew members are present in the cockpit and actively monitor the flight from the departure briefing to FL200 and from the arrival briefing to the gate. Outside of these flight phases, each member of the flight crew must be able to rest for at least an hour and a half continuously during the flight duty time. The captain sets the procedures for each member of the crew taking their rest.
    The pilot rest area is a small room located right behind the cockpit. Its forward wall adjoins the cockpit’s aft wall. The rest area has two bunks to allow the resting pilot to sleep (or two resting pilots for long flights with a double crew). A dedicated button on the left side of the cockpit overhead panel rings a call chime in the rest area. (There are other call buttons for other areas of the aircraft as well).

    Many A330s have an inter-phone handset in the rest area that allows for voice communication between the cockpit and the rest area. A conversation with the captain is only seconds away at any time. But the inter-phone in the bunk area is optional. Air France did not take this option. The best the pilots can do to communicate is ring the call button from the flight deck, and bang on the wall from the bunk. On the transcript, First Officer Robert was called in the rest area at 01:56. Four seconds later he responded with a knock on the wall (as if to say “I’m up”). But without the inter-phone, there is no way to distinguish between a call to say “your break is up in 10 minutes” and “we have an emergency and need you ASAP.”
    It was not just communication between the cockpit and the crew rest area that was difficult that night. Voice and digital communications with air traffic control also suffered.

Chapter 3: Communication Breakdown
    As the flight departed the North coast of Brazil there were communications issues that night that contributed to the lengthy delay in both locating any floating wreckage (5 days) and locating the sunken wreckage (2 years).
    Two communication technologies are currently in use: HF radio, and modern satellite-delivered digital communications and tracking.
    Oceanic flights are often outside the range of radar and line-of-sight VHF radio communications. To provide for traffic separation and communications in these areas, pilots and controllers use HF (shortwave) radio, and a system of position reporting at designated points along their assigned route. Pilots report their time and altitude over each reporting point, the estimated arrival time for