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Aftermath of Linhas Aereas de Mocambique crash in North-Eastern Namibia

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This report was published in "The Namibian" today. It gives info on the recovery efforts and the particular air space rules in North-Eastern Namibia as well as background info. (www.namibian.com.na) Altro...

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preacher1
preacher1 1
Well, it seems like there is plenty of territorial squabble and bickering by all the little 2$ bureaucrats who want to get their name out and seem important, BUT, not one of them mothers has proffered a reason why it fell straight out of the sky, with no trouble report or an emergency/mayday call.
wopri
Maybe it will take a few days, but with the flight recorders recovered, we will get answers now. Even with a new airplane, Linhas Aereas de Mocambique is banned from flying in Euopean airspace, probably for good reasons.
preacher1
preacher1 1
I saw that no fly and the folks said they had to issue a prelim within 30 days, so maybe we'll hear something rather quickly.
wopri
And for those of you who read German, here's an article in the German language newspaper "Allgemeine Zeitung" of Namibia:

http://www.az.com.na/unf-lle/flug-tm470-keine-berlebenden.414592
wopri
The team of investigators into the crash is now at work. It consists of experts from Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Brazil, China, the USA and Namibia, who is leading the probe.

http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=6825&page_type=story_detail&category_id=1
preacher1
preacher1 1
Maybe if they can all get along and no one tries the BIG I,LITTLE YOU business, it will work. If they get pressure from the 2$ bureaucrats back home and try and exert national independence, it will go nowhere except skewed.
wopri
That's always a possibility in this type of undertaking, but in general Botswana, Angola, Mozambique and Namibia work quite well together, they are all members of the Southern African Development Community. I understand why Brazil is present in the team, after all it's a Brazilian aircraft that went down, and I suppose the American members are present because of special knowledge, but I don't understand the presence of Chinese investigators, other than the big Chinese push into Africa.

I don't know if you are familiar with the area the plane went down. It's in the Caprivi Strip, a narrow panhandle about 250 miles long and for about half of it's length only 20 miles wide. Most of the Caprivi Strip is National Parks with very little infrastructure other than the Trans-Caprivi Highway and only very few inhabitants. Add to that the beginning of the rainy season with lots of thunderstorms and it makes for a big job cut out for the team.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Just other than maps or generalities, not that familiar with the area. Like you, I could see the others but I can't understand the Chinese connection either. I really can't understand the American presence as there were no nationals on the flight and as you said, it was a Brazilian airplane. The only thing I can think of for that is that there are a bunch of those planes flying in the U.S.
wopri
Anyway, Namibia seems to be taking this investigation very seriously. The team had a meeting with the Prime Minister in Windhoek before travelling up north, and the only reason they did not meet with the President was because he was out of town. As the only involvement Namibia has with the crash is the fact that it happened on Namibian soil, the investigation should not have any political implication for them and it should be thorough and neutral with the investigative team headed by a Namibian.

As the Caprivi Strip is only 20 miles wide where the crash happened, Namibia does not require any contact with Namibian air traffic control and Botswana hands the flight directly over to Angola. This was about to happen in the next minute or so before the crash. That's probably one of the reasons why it took fairly long before the wreck was found, as Botswana was certain the plane went down on their territory and did not notify Namibia.
preacher1
preacher1 2
Well, maybe now that it's all sorted out they will work together and get serious about finding the cause. It is good that they found the boxes. Hopefully there will be good data on them and something readily identifiable. I have seen them work with less but in looking at the picture, there is not much left there to work with.
wopri
The flight & voice recorders will be send to the NTSB laboratories in Washington DC for the analysis, "The Namibian" reports today. Another reason to be hopeful for a satisfactory report.

Also, the leader of the team indicates after reviewing radar footage that it's quite possible the plane disintegrated in midair.

http://www.namibian.com.na/indexx.php?id=6886&page_type=story_detail
wopri
There are still two bodies missing, I wonder if the plane started to disintegrate in the air.
preacher1
preacher1 2
Something catastrophic happened for it to fall that quick and a mid air breakup is possible. If it did, there could have been an expulsion. Remember that ALOHA 737 that lost that fuselage piece years back. An FA was taken out there and her body has yet to be found, and over that type of country, you may have the same scenario.
wopri
Especially with the presence of lions and spotted hyenas.
preacher1
preacher1 1
yep, that's what I was thinking.

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