Air France Flight 447

Jean-Paul Troadec, director of France’s Investigation and Analysis Bureau, announced to family members of the 58 Brazilians victims that the search for the elusive Black Boxes from the lost Air France Flight 447 will resume in February.

This phase will involve underwater sweeps. Researchers studying currents and underwater topography have tried pinpoint the area. For up to three months, sonar and robot submarines will be searching a specific location 1,000 kilometers off of Brazil’s coast.

It is heartening to see some kind of resources directed toward continuing to search. But family members have been waiting–waiting and wondering why there was an interim in the search, why not enough information about the investigation has been reaching the families when 178 bodies are still unaccounted for.

The US is going to assist in this phase of search efforts, as well as Britain, Germany, Russia and Brazil, and private companies.