Kalistan

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Final report of Crash is released
National Government oks public distribution as Search officially ends
Kaliburg, Grand Duchy of Ananto
July 15, 5686


Diagram of debris field shows radar image of sea floor at crash site

With the assistance of Valruzia, Kalistani divers have completed the search of the crash site of the AeroKal flight that the late Emperor and Empress were on which crashed into the ocean last December, killing everyone on board. The final search results allowed the Ministry of Transportation to obtain the flight recorder, which revealed the tragic chain of events that led to the crash. No additional bodies were recovered, and most of the debris was considered to be too destroyed to justify recovery.

The Chancellor of the Empire presented the executive summary of the report, which was publicly released at the same time. According to the Chancellor, the search was conducted by Regular Navy divers working hand in hand with both logistics and diving teams from Valruzia, who last year offered these resources to help. The joint team began diving at the site in mid May, weather permitting, and spent more than a week looking for the debris field, and then another six weeks looking for the flight data recorder and mapping the debris field which had been scattered over five football fields and partially buried at the bottom of the ocean.

"This area is primarily influenced by strong sea currents flowing from Artania to Trigunia," said the Chancellor, "and the clash of the sub arctic temperature zone and the warmer waters from the west that rush through here and ensure a milder climate that makes existence in a nation like Trigunia even possible. As you can imagine, storms rage through here on a very frequent basis, and make conducting a search of any kind incredibly difficult. Added to that the sheer depth of the sea floor, and the search effort is going to be very difficult, even in the relatively narrow periods of calm seas. So, we made the best of the time we had, during the window between May and earlier this month."

According to the Chancellor, the divers discovered the field in late May, and sent several submersible teams down to map the debris field. In the process of doing so, they discovered the so called "black box" or the flight recorder which is meant to provide all flight data and can give an idea of just what happened to the flight, and a chronology of events that led to the plane's demise.

"I wish I could say that it was one thing that went wrong that night," said the Chancellor. "But the story is somewhat more difficult. The main cause of malfunction was icing on the plane's wings, but there was also a malfunction in the plane's hydraulics which prevented the pilots from correcting. The dime version is that as the plane attempted to rise above the storm, it experienced significant icing on the wings, and in the plane's elevators. The plane began to lose altitude and the ice prevented the pilots from correcting. Their efforts to do so actually caused two hydraulic lines in the left wing to fail, and all control of the wing was lost at that point.

"The pilots attempted to compensate again then and level the plane out by decreasing the throttle of the right engine, but it was too late as the plane was pushed into the ocean. It hit the water at a steep angle and it was likely that it summersaulted after hitting the surface, causing catastrophic damage to the structure of the plane, ripping off both wings, and instantly destroying the fuselage. From there, the remnants of the plane sunk to the sea floor and was swept in a generally north eastern direction by the current, finally setting in its final resting location."

The Chancellor also had the unenviable task of reporting that no survivors or remains were found during the search. "It is very likely that all aboard were killed by the impact alone, but those who did not die immediately, if they were awake, would likely have died of hypothermia which would have set in almost immediately, after which point they drowned. The bodies which were recovered last winter were likely the only ones that made it out of the plane alive, but very quickly lost their battle against the cold water and high waves of the ocean."

The Chancellor thanked the Defense Ministry Divers and gave especial words of praise to Valruzia who put their assets at Kalistan's disposal during the entire mission. "Valruzia was among the first to express condolences for Kalistan's tragic loss and to offer their assistance. They spent the entire search mission with Kalistani sailors and were so helpful and willing to just be part of this mission. They also provided the sea floor radar devices that allowed us to get a good understanding of the debris field, and ultimately locate the black box. We really appreciate it so much."

The Chancellor said that the decision to not attempt to recover much of the debris was made in early July, when it was determined that recovery of the debris would not yield anymore information than the flight data recorder would by itself, and would likely disturb whatever is left of the bodies who are at rest at the spot. "Out of respect for the deceased, including the members of the Royal Family who are almost certainly there, and out of logistical concern for the safety of the diving teams and ship crews, we decided to not attempt to recover any of the fragments of the plane that are at the bottom of a very deep ocean. The decision to not disturb the bodies was made by Her Highness, the Princess Regent Nicolette Ananto-Collins, who gave the final order to end the search."

The return of the crews to Kalistan and Valruzia marks the official end of the Reigns of Emperor Fredrick IV Ananto and Empress Jennifer I Ananto. House Ananto has announced, therefore that a public memorial service will be held at the Kaliburg Yearly Meeting House in Kaliburg in early August. All those who wish to participate in the memorial are invited.

@TheRepublic