A submarine searching the Flight 447 crash site picked up a faint signal several days ago but the source of the signal is yet to be determined. Photo Credit: Airbus IndustriesJune 23, 2009, (Sawf News) - A submarine searching the Flight 447 crash site picked up a faint signal several days ago but the source of the signal is yet to be determined.
"We have not located the recorders,” said Martine Del Bono, a spokeswoman for the Office of Investigations and Analyses.
“They are hearing a lot of sounds,” Ms. Del Bono said. “We cannot confirm that it is from the black box.”
A French military spokesman similarly emphasized that the signals haven't been positively identifying as those emanating from the black boxes.
The signals “need to be confirmed with more precise analysis or by bringing in other equipment to confirm that the signature corresponds to that of the black box,” he said. “At this stage, today, we have not been able to make that confirmation.”
Black Boxes, which are actually bright orange in color, emit high-pitched ultrasound beeps that cannot be discerned by human ears but can be picked up by specialized underwater microphones within a radius of up to 2 kilometers, or 1.2 miles.
Ultrasound is used instead of human audible sound to make the signal distinct from other underwater sound.
Black Boxes are wrapped, in strong corrosion-resistant stainless steel or titanium, with high-temperature insulation inside. They are designed to emit a locator beacon for up to 30 days, and can operate immersed to a depth of up to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft).
Black Boxes comprise the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). The FDR records aircraft performance parameters while the CVR records cockpit sounds including conversation in the cockpit, radio communications and ambient sounds.
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