Posted on 05/05/2011 7:12:31 PM PDT by Western Phil
Victims' families are closer to the truth this week: Voice and data recorders from flight AF447 have been pulled from the ocean floor, and investigators hope to unlock their contents. But experts and family members remain at odds over whether newly discovered bodies should be brought to the surface.
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The remains of 50 passengers were recovered and identified on the surface of the water in the days after the flight disappeared in a storm on June 1, 2009. But underwater robots recently discovered the wreck and photographed a number of bodies still fastened in their seatbelts on the Atlantic Ocean floor. The task of recovering these bodies is a difficult and delicate endeavour now dividing family members.
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An unmanned submarine from the Alucia first identified the submerged airliner on April 3 in a murky part of the Sargasso Sea, northeast of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha islands. Another underwater robot plucked the voice and data recorders from the wreck. They were hauled aboard a French recovery ship called the Ile de Sein.
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(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
Maybe I am just not understanding what is going on, but I am thinking that they are remains and not bodies after 2 years. Would there be anything left besides bones?
Now that the location of AF447 is known, why not have a memorial service for them and let the remains stay where they are? There is nothing to be gained from mounting (or even considering) a recovery operation . . . no matter how well-intentioned.
Depending on how deep and cold the water is, how much oxygen there is and what feeding organisms can live that deep, bodies can turn into soap (saponification).
I think the water at that depth, even in the tropics, is quite cold and has very little oxygen.
If you recall the Gulf oil leak, the natural gas escaping with the oil turned to slush during the first attempts to capture the mix. There is other physics involved, but the cold temperature of the water was an important factor.
I don’t know. If my loved one was among those lost in the flight, I would probably want the remains to be brought home. But, if I were told that recovery was just too difficult, I would probably reconcile myself to the fact.
OK, thanks.
OK, thanks.
OK, thanks.
Although I agree with you, I consider it merciful to allow each family to make that decision for themselves, or even to express an opinion.
If you haven't experienced a family death in an accident, you have no idea. It's not a cold, rational process.
I had her remains cremated and then had a memorial service for her for family and friends who knew her. That was far more satisfying to all present than the usual funeral. All those present were relatives and friends whose lives her presence had enriched. Celebrate and remember her in life; do not celebrate death because it is just the transition from the temporal to spiritual realm.
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