Specialised software is helping French authorities to recover
wreckage and bodies from the
ill-fated Air France flight 447 that crashed into the Atlantic
last week.
The software generates search area predictions for planes and
other vessels missing at sea based on the location of any floating
wreckage.
The search and rescue optimal planning system (SAROPS) uses
weather, wind and sea conditions over a period of time to identify
the best search patterns.
A key component of the system is the Environmental Data Server
that aggregates and feeds the weather and sea conditions into the
software system. The automatic data feeds eliminate the potential
for error.
Around 30 bodies, pieces of the Airbus 330 airliner and luggage
have been recovered, but the search continues for the flight data
and cockpit voice recorders.
"Recovery of bodies and debris is significant not only for
families, but for crash investigators," said Mary Schiavo, a former
inspector general for the US department of transport.
The SAROPS system was developed for the US Coast Guard by
technology firm Applied Science Associates, aircraft systems
integrator Northrup Grumman, and control systems firm Metron.
