AF447: APU Found But Difficult Search Ahead

The search for debris from AF447 is making gradual progress -- as evidenced by the discovery of the auxiliary power unit -- but the French air accident investigation office, the BEA, warns the process is complicated by the way the debris has come to rest at around 4,000 meters depth.

(Photo: BEA)

The aft and forward portions of the aircraft broke apart - likely on impact with the ocean surface when the Airbus A330-200 went down on June 1, 2009 - and parts are intermingled. The cockpit voice and flight data recorders are located in the aft section of the A330.

There is still no sign of the crash survivable memory unit, which dislodged from the flight data recorder casing.

The BEA says it has not commenced any retrieval activities, yet, largely to focus on the search for the recorder.

Finding the APU and other elements could be important, too. Those components could provide clues to what caused AF447 to crash, especially if the crash survivable memory unit is not recovered or is seriously damaged.