France Says All AF 447 Remains May Never Be Found; Brazil Disagrees

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Since Monday, the Brazilian navy and air force have been focused on finding what’s left of Air France Flight 447. But in trying to get government officials to comment on the crash, I’ve been met with only one answer: According to international regulations, it is France’s responsibility to determine the cause of the accident, not Brazil’s. Was it caused by the storm? An equipment problem? Answering that is France’s job, Brazilian officials repeat over and over again.

Frustratingly, France doesn’t have any leads either. Air France has ruled out the possibility of the plane having left Rio with some kind of technical problem. Other than that, there seems to be no information. The black boxes could be as far as three miles down into the water, in an area full of rock formations and subject to unpredictable weather. The head of France’s accident investigation agency Paul-Louis Arslanian says they may never be found.

But the optimistic Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva disagrees. “A country that can find petroleum at a depth of six thousand meters (3.7 miles) can find an airplane at two thousand meters (1.2 miles),” he said from Guatemala City.

Let’s hope he’s right.

Guest contributor Gabriela Lessa is a journalist and blogger spending the summer in her native Brazil. Watch for her regular dispatches over the next few months on MotherJones.com.

 

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate