23m wide, over 140m long, and with cranes that are capable of lifting up to 5 tonnes. Less than 20 days after the discovery of the wreckage of flight AF 447, Ile de Sein enters the port of Dakar.
Ship's arrival, shot of the cranes and the ROV, investigators and gendarmes go on board.
ITV Jean-Paul Troadec - BEA
Director of the BEA
Time was an important criterion and we chose a ship that corresponded to our technical criteria and that was available as quickly as possible. On the ship there are, therefore, representatives of the BEA technical investigation, known as the safety investigation, and some representatives of the judicial investigation. For the safety investigation, the Investigator-in-Charge, Mr Alain Bouillard, is assisted by three BEA Safety Investigators. We also have a Brazilian colleague and a British colleague on board representing their respective countries' investigation authorities. We also have experts on aircraft structure from Airbus and from Air France to help us to recognize parts that we chose to bring to the surface.
Priority for the BEA: the flight recorders.
In spite of examining 26,000 photos of the site, the investigators' work will be complex. Not all of the parts are recognisable. The depth is a major challenge.
ITV Alain Bouillard – BEA
Investigator-in-Charge
We are sending the ROV into a treacherous area with electrical cables and pieces of the wreckage. To pilot an ROV 4,000 metres below the surface in this environment is extremely difficult. We have a good distribution of the parts on the seafloor and we know where to send the ROV down to have the greatest chance of finding the recorders. Even though we haven't localized them yet, we know where to search.
For precise localisation, there is an ROV. Its cameras will make it possible to determine a definitive strategy. Phoenix International, the BEA's usual partner for sea operations, is responsible for this.
ITV Paul Wick Nelson – Phoenix International
Head of ROV:
The mission will be to go down to the seafloor, localize the debris then we'll have to attach it with cables and bring it up to the surface and then onto the ship. That'll take time, a lot of time, it's very slow because it's very deep.
The airplane parts will then have to be lifted onto the ship's deck. That's over 4km.
ITW Commandant Jérémie Maillet – LDA
Commandant of the cable ship Ile de Sein
With all of our equipment on board, the crew is used to working, lifting, dropping objects from the deep. I think that that'll take some time. The will doubtless be numerous operational procedures to adjust on the spot. Nothing is written down about this type of operation, so it's up to us to proceed carefully and then go forward so that the investigation can be concluded.
