The Many Possible Causes Of The Air France Crash

The Air France crash remains unsolved although recent autopsy results have made for interesting reading.

Many passengers received limb fractures mid-air which suggests that the plane defragmented whilst airborne. Also, many of the bodies were found with a lack of clothing on and had not suffered any burns, which forensic scientists and aviation safety experts say could be a significant factor as it also points towards the likelihood of the Air France crash actually being caused by the plane breaking up in mid-air.

Since the Air France crash was first reported, there have been many theories regarding the cause of the tragic crash, from terrorist attacks to excessive turbulence, yet nothing has yet been proven. Despite various newspapers running with the terrorist attack theory there is absolutely no proof to suggest that this could have been the case.

Another theory is simply that the Air France crash was caused by lightening striking the Airbus A330 plane. This is a more plausible cause, but has not been found to be the reason as to how the plane broke up mid-flight, especially as the Airbus A330 is designed to withstand lightening strikes as it uses an electric computer based operating system rather than being controlled mechanically.

The Airbus A330 is insulated in such a way that any excess current passed through the plane - as with a lightning strike - is filtered out. This does not mean that a lightning strike can be discounted as the cause of the Air France crash though as it is also a possibility that the Airbus may have had a faulty computer system that could well have made the plane susceptible to electromagnetic interference, thus causing the pilot to lose control of the aircraft.

The other likelihood could have been a failure with the on board weather system which would have left the pilot with no guidance when trying to navigate a storm, and could therefore have headed into the worst of the storm unknowingly.

And as for the turbulence theory, this cannot be totally ruled out but aircrafts are extensively tested against extreme conditions and whilst adverse weather can be extremely powerful, this remains unlikely to be the sole cause.

Despite there remaining many possible causes of the Air France crash, sufficient evidence has not yet been found, but the forensic results at least give those investigating this tragic disaster, along with lawyers involved with compensation cases for the bereaved families some more evidence with which to work with.