Argentina: Argentine campaigner Pablo Dreyfus and Swiss colleague Ronald Dreyer battled South American arms and drug traffickingFrom Andrew McLeod
Amid the media frenzy and speculation over the disappearance of Air France's ill-fated Flight 447, the loss of two of the world's most prominent figures in the war on the illegal arms trade and international drug trafficking has been virtually overlooked.
Pablo Dreyfus, a 39-year-old Argentine who was travelling with his wife Ana Carolina Rodrigues aboard the doomed flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, had worked tirelessly with the Brazilian authorities to stem the flow of arms and ammunition that for years has fuelled the bloody turf wars waged by drug gangs in Rio's sprawling favelas.
Also travelling with Dreyfus on the doomed flight was his friend and colleague Ronald Dreyer, a Swiss diplomat and co-ordinator of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence who had worked with UN missions in El Salvador, Mozambique, Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Angola. Both men were consultants at the Small Arms Survey, an independent think tank based at Geneva's Graduate Institute of International Studies. The Survey said on its website that Dryer had helped mobilise the support of more than 100 countries to the cause of disarmament and development.
Fire in the Sky
© Unknown
Back in 1996, after the initially very mysterious explosion and crash of Flight 800 from JFK to Rome, there were numerous eyewitness accounts of a "streak in the sky" just before the crash. This led to the "missile theory" of the crash, which was eventually attributed to the explosion of the center fuel tank by the NTSB. But, also at the time, it was suggested that a meteor of sufficient size could have struck the plane, bringing it down.
Could a meteor have brought down Air France 447? Today we are starting to see reports that there actually may have been a meteor:
Could a meteor have brought down Air France 447? Today we are starting to see reports that there actually may have been a meteor:
However, both pilots of an Air Comet flight from Lima to Lisbon sent a written report on the bright flash they said they saw to Air France, Airbus and the Spanish civil aviation authority, the airline told CNN.
"Suddenly, we saw in the distance a strong and intense flash of white light, which followed a descending and vertical trajectory and which broke up in six seconds," the captain wrote.
"Meteorite is a rocky material which enters into earth's atmosphere from outside the earth (for eg, Mars) whereas numerous small and big rocks circulating in between the planets Mars and Jupiter are known as asteroids," said Prof Harish Chandra Verma of department of Physics of IIT-K while talking to TOI, specifying the difference between a meteorite and an asteroid.
Prof Verma ruled out the possibility of the stone being an asteroid as reported in some newspapers and emphatically remarked that the initial study of the piece of the rock done on Wednesday confirms that it's a meteorite. Usually such pieces of rock (debris) come from asteroid belt only but sometimes they may very well be a part of other celestial bodies also.
Prof Verma ruled out the possibility of the stone being an asteroid as reported in some newspapers and emphatically remarked that the initial study of the piece of the rock done on Wednesday confirms that it's a meteorite. Usually such pieces of rock (debris) come from asteroid belt only but sometimes they may very well be a part of other celestial bodies also.
French Defence Minister Herve Morin said Friday that the possibility of a terrorist attack on Air France Flight 447 cannot be ruled out.
"We have no right to exclude terrorism," he told journalists, but adding that he had not heard of any threats to the flight or of any group or individual claiming responsibility for bringing down the aircraft.
The Airbus A330-200 airliner with 228 people aboard went missing over the Atlantic Sunday night after leaving Rio de Janeiro to Paris. According to Air France earlier this week, the plane sent out a series of messages showing "multiple technical failure" just before it disappeared.
"We have no right to exclude terrorism," he told journalists, but adding that he had not heard of any threats to the flight or of any group or individual claiming responsibility for bringing down the aircraft.
The Airbus A330-200 airliner with 228 people aboard went missing over the Atlantic Sunday night after leaving Rio de Janeiro to Paris. According to Air France earlier this week, the plane sent out a series of messages showing "multiple technical failure" just before it disappeared.
Posted: June 4, 2009
Date of Sighting: 31st May 2009
Time: 10-11 PM
Witness Statement: I was having a ciggie out of the bathroom window and saw a large 'fireball' (glowing orange) moving horizontally and quite low in the sky. This thing appeared to be both bigger than a 747, and faster than any plane or helicopter. I watched it, shouted and ran to get my partner, was literally gone 3-4 seconds, and when I returned it had just vanished ! Impossible! I know what I saw, and it wasn't anything man made (that I know of !). Just a big ball of 'fire' flying at a constant speed and height.
Date of Sighting: 31st May 2009
Time: 10-11 PM
Witness Statement: I was having a ciggie out of the bathroom window and saw a large 'fireball' (glowing orange) moving horizontally and quite low in the sky. This thing appeared to be both bigger than a 747, and faster than any plane or helicopter. I watched it, shouted and ran to get my partner, was literally gone 3-4 seconds, and when I returned it had just vanished ! Impossible! I know what I saw, and it wasn't anything man made (that I know of !). Just a big ball of 'fire' flying at a constant speed and height.
Posted: June 2, 2009
Date: May 28, 2009
Time Approx: 11:30 p.m.
Number of witnesses: 2
Number of Objects: 1
Shape of Objects: Orb-like.
Full Description of Event/Sighting: Driving down highway 12 slowing down for construction, I had seen a medium-sized green fireball-like orb falling towards the ground at a close 45 degree angle approximately 1 mile away. I wasn't sure if it were fireworks or a flare gun initially considering the construction nearby. I also had considered a falling star. A couple of seconds later I realized it couldn't have been either of those and quickly asked my girlfriend sitting next to me what it could be. We both looked at it for 3-4 seconds as it rapidly fell towards the ground. We weren't able to see where it fell due to a blocking view caused by a big-rig truck.
Date: May 28, 2009
Time Approx: 11:30 p.m.
Number of witnesses: 2
Number of Objects: 1
Shape of Objects: Orb-like.
Full Description of Event/Sighting: Driving down highway 12 slowing down for construction, I had seen a medium-sized green fireball-like orb falling towards the ground at a close 45 degree angle approximately 1 mile away. I wasn't sure if it were fireworks or a flare gun initially considering the construction nearby. I also had considered a falling star. A couple of seconds later I realized it couldn't have been either of those and quickly asked my girlfriend sitting next to me what it could be. We both looked at it for 3-4 seconds as it rapidly fell towards the ground. We weren't able to see where it fell due to a blocking view caused by a big-rig truck.
A recent near-fatal incident involving a similar Airbus A330 could provide clues as to the cause of the Air France crash.
Last October, a Qantas A330 plunged 650 feet in a few seconds after a computer malfunction which was possibly triggered by electrical interference.
More than 50 people were injured in the incident which happened suddenly at 37,000 feet over Western Australia.
The air data computer, which is supposed to correct mistakes by the pilot, sent the A330 into a very steep dive. The computer mistakenly thought that the pilot was trying to climb too fast.
Last October, a Qantas A330 plunged 650 feet in a few seconds after a computer malfunction which was possibly triggered by electrical interference.
More than 50 people were injured in the incident which happened suddenly at 37,000 feet over Western Australia.
The air data computer, which is supposed to correct mistakes by the pilot, sent the A330 into a very steep dive. The computer mistakenly thought that the pilot was trying to climb too fast.
© Airbus/AP
This photo shows an Airbus A330 model operated by Air France. An Air France A330 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers Monday over the Atlantic Ocean
This photo shows an Airbus A330 model operated by Air France. An Air France A330 carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers Monday over the Atlantic Ocean
Air France says the Airbus A330 sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through an area of strong turbulence. The plane "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence" at 10:00 p.m. EDT Sunday, the company said in a statement.
Date of Sighting: May 14, 2009
Time of Sighting: 10:45 PM CDT
Location of Sighting: Gravelly, Arkansas (W. Arkansas About 60 MI WNW of Little Rock)
Description: I was riding my 4 wheeler on a perfectly clear night. I was rounding a curve and something caught my eye. I turned my attention to the sky. It was almost like two fireballs side by side traveling north. The fireballs completely lit up the sky. They seemed to be stretched out traveling fast, and in an instant they were gone. I have two friends who were looking at the same thing and wondering what we had just seen.
Time of Sighting: 10:45 PM CDT
Location of Sighting: Gravelly, Arkansas (W. Arkansas About 60 MI WNW of Little Rock)
Description: I was riding my 4 wheeler on a perfectly clear night. I was rounding a curve and something caught my eye. I turned my attention to the sky. It was almost like two fireballs side by side traveling north. The fireballs completely lit up the sky. They seemed to be stretched out traveling fast, and in an instant they were gone. I have two friends who were looking at the same thing and wondering what we had just seen.
Comment: Let's see what the physics and astronomy professors said exactly in their letter to the NYT in 1996: