Generalism

I’m sorry, but am I the only person on the planet that finds this completely and utterly insane? A plane en-route to Paris crashes into the Atlantic, and five days later officials still have no idea where it went down or why?

Not knowing where is in itself inexcusable; in an age where we can track individual miscreants with an ankle bracelet to a distance of ten metres, you’re telling me we can’t track a plane that’s sixty metres long?

Regarding the why, we all know about the black-box flight recorder, how vital it is, how key to the effective evaluation and resolution of problems relating to current and future flight safety. So would it not be fair to assume that, in the event of an accident over deep water as was the case here, the black box recorder would have some kind of device that would take it to the surface and perhaps (and I know I’m pushing the boat out here on recent evidence) even flash or, god forbid, beep? I mean, is that too much to ask? The most vital piece of equipment following an accident, so important that they are double wrapped, titanium, fire, shock and nuclear blast proof, and there’s a chance it will never be found?! Seriously, seriously am I completely missing something here?

Well, I must be. We’ve been flying planes for decades now. We have numerous pieces of safety equipment, we have engine redundancies, detailed digital communications technologies, we even have histories of successful landings on motorways, fields, even the Hudson river. I simply refuse to believe we don’t have any idea where this plane crashed, why it did so, and at what time.

I’m distraught for the families. Now I’m absolutely livid at the shocking aftermath.