Forty Canadian soldiers were searching the land over which the MD-11 is thought to have flown for traces of the jet fuel its crew indicated they were dumping. The QAR does not include a locator beacon, nor is it hardened against the G- forces of impact. Meanwhile, recovery efforts continued with workers successfully raising the largest pieces of the shattered jet to be retrieved from the ocean floor so far. Thursday, the U.S. Navy salvage ship USS Grapple brought them up, part of the plane's main landing gear. Just 10 victims of the tragedy have been identified, although DNA tests on other remains have been completed.
Investigators expect many more identifications to be completed in the near future.
After decades of colorful operations, Southern Air Transport last week ceased operations and laid off its employees for good. Sources tell AVweb that the carrier closed its doors for the final time on Thursday. Piper Navajo operators faced a new proposal to supersede an existing AD addressing cracks in the horizontal stabilizer rear spar. Meanwhile, Cessna T210R Centurion operators saw that their version of the icing AD was made final. AVweb's NewsWire includes the full text of the proposed and final ADs.