Germanwings A320 Crash – Hollande Says FDR Memory Card “Missing”

by Scott Creighton

Holy shit.

The other day I wrote about how vitally important the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) would be in determining the real cause of the crash of Germanwings flight 9525.

The FDR records vital information regarding all the systems on board the plane including the automatic pilot system as well as the security system for the entry to the cockpit.

And if there is a uninterruptable autopilot system on board (allowing for remote piloting of the plane or setting of the autopilot system in the event of a hijacking) then the FDR would show if it was activated just prior to the autopilot system crashing the plane.

Well, previously I had reported that the FDR had been reported as being damaged beyond repair but that may not be the case.

It seems, someone stole the memory chip out of it.

In searching for information on this vital piece of evidence, I have come across two distinctly different official stories.

In one line of narrative, the FDR has not yet been found as of yesterday according to an article from this aviation site.

“The BEA has yet to hold a follow-up briefing on the investigation and it fell to the European Cockpit Association to remind the world that investigators have yet to find the aircraft’s flight data recorder, analysis of which could prove vital to confirming the facts.”

The other story is much more troubling… and that is… the FDR was found very early on according to someone who would have knowledge of the investigation (the President of France) but…  THE MEMORY CARD HAD BEEN TAKEN.

“Confusion surrounded the fate of the second black box. French President Francois Hollande said the casing of the flight data recorder had been found in the scattered debris, but was missing the memory card that captures 25 hours’ worth of information on the position and condition of almost every major part in a plane. Jouty refused to confirm the discovery” Associated Press, March 25 updated March 26

This story was confirmed back on the 25th by Slate:

The outside casing of the crashed plane’s flight data recorder—one of the “black boxes” investigators search for after air tragedies—has been recorded, but its memory card has not been located. Slate

Breitbart also confirmed this aspect of the story on the 26th saying (much like Harleyman did at the scene of 9/11):

“The flight data recorder’s memory card has not yet been located – it was apparently ejected from the recorder casing due to the immense force of the crash.  If it can be located, it will yield valuable information about the flight performance and condition of the aircraft prior to impact” Breitbart March 26th

Holy fucking shit.

Someone took the memory card from the FDR. No wonder they want to try and convict the co-pilot so quickly in the court of public opinion and be done with the story as soon as possible.

So, I stand corrected in my earlier piece.

The FDR is not being reported as having been damaged beyond repair (hard to do with a solid state memory chip)…

… but instead… it appears… someone simply took it… and that aspect of the story has simply disappeared down the memory hole along with the memory chip itself.