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Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – (update) Air France flight 447, which was lost in stormy weather over the Atlantic ocean 1 June, may have benefited from the aircraft meteorological data relay (Amdar) programme, coordinated by the Geneva-based World Meterological Organization (WMO). The  WMO told GenevaLunch that two Lufthansa flights in the area at the time were reporting Amdar data, but were not reporting turbulence. The Air France A330 was not equipped to relay the data, the WMO says.

Aircraft equipped with the software, at many airlines, routinely relay information on takeoff and landing about technical factors like wind speed, temperature, barometric pressure, and sometimes turbulence. Some aircraft relay data while they are cruising. The information is relayed to the airline, which makes it available to the national meteorological service. The data is fed into models of weather which can then be used by airlines to alert aircraft to potentially hazardous weather conditions. It is unlikely that information from the Lufthansa aircraft would have been of use to the Air France flight.

Amdar has been operational since the 1980s. Not all airlines participate in the programme, and not all aircraft have compatible software, limiting its global application.