The recent plane crash in France in which there was no radio call for help was considered a rare event, and because of the silence the cause of the crash seemed unimaginable. We would eventually discover the crash was a murder-suicide by one of the pilots. Silent plane crashes are so unusual, it practically takes a suicidal pilot.
It made me think of several other silent crashes I have read about. Senator Paul Wellstone, liberal defender of the poor, opponent of the invasion of Iraq, target of the Bush Administration, dies in a plane crash aboard a private plane which is just a few miles from the landing field when it plunges into the woods in absolute silence. Wellstone was in the process of running for re-election and was still leading two weeks from election day despite everything the Republicans threw at him. We are told the plane crash was due to pilot error and are asked to believe that two experienced pilots, in a very high tech plane, ignored all kinds of warnings and gauges and crashed without ever calling for help. The FBI arrives on the scene before the NTSB and then we are told that this high tech plane didn't have a cockpit recorder. So we have a case of absolute silence, blamed on pilot error. Pilots so bad, they not only crashed the plane, they didn't call for help either.
The crash of John Kennedy Jr. is a similar silent crash. Again the plane is just a few miles from the landing field when it crashes into the water. Blamed on pilot error, we are told JFK Jr. lost control. However, the radar shows that the plane plunged straight down, something that can only be done by someone pushing the controls to intentionally crash. Also, the fuel valve is found in the off position, shutting the fuel. It is something that CANNOT be done by accident. When the plane is found and we are told that the flight data recorder was missing a battery so there is no recording. Another silent crash.
Even if you believe that these three pilots were at fault, no one can answer the question, why is there no call for help? Both flights were going along fine, and then they crashed, without a word.
As this week's crash has shown us, silent crashes are rare and require strange circumstances to occur; strange or intentional.