LATEST ON AIR FRANCE 447 - AT 11:38 A.M. ET:  We've been following the probe into Air France flight 447, which disappeared over the Atlantic last week on a flight from Rio to Paris.  We're following this because the disappearance is a mystery, and terrorism has not been ruled out.  From London's Telegraph:

The Air France plane that disappeared out of the sky en route from Brazil to France sent 24 automatic messages signalling system failures, French investigators have revealed.

Among them may have been the plane's autopilot, which was disengaged for the final minutes before the plane is believed to have plunged into the sea. But officials said it was not clear whether the autopilot had been switched off by the pilots, or had cut out because it received conflicting airspeed readings.

The mystery over what happened to flight AF447 deepened when French weather experts said there was no evidence the aircraft had encountered "exceptional" atmospheric conditions.

COMMENT:  That last point is startling and reminds us why we should be skeptical of initial reports after a catastrophic event.  We were initially told that the plane encountered severe turbulence, but that is apparently not the case.

What caused so many system failures?  Was there a major mechanical breakdown, unlikely on such a modern plane?  Or was there something else, an explosion perhaps?  Or was the plane improperly flown, possibly by someone who'd broken into the cockpit? 

We have no evidence - none - that terrorism was involved.  But the mystery grows greater, and nothing must be dismissed.  At the same time, news reports say it's quite possible that flight 447 will join the list of unsolved aviation disasters.

June 6, 2009