Air France flight 447: Why aren’t we using existing technology to make a difference?
June 8th, 2009
TRIPSO: Like you, I’ve been reading about Air France flight 447, and the 228 people who perished when it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. As an engineer, I’ve been wondering why we know so little of what happened, and if somehow the tragedy might have been prevented by existing technology not employed on the plane. Our society is able to accomplish spectacular technical feats, such as sending people 226,800 miles from the Earth to the Moon, and back again safely, as well as seemingly mundane technical feats, such as determining the precise location of a stolen car, via its GPS device, for the police. If we can do that, why can’t we keep track of planes crossing oceans well enough to immediately locate them in case of problems, and know what’s going on in them, on a real time basis?
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