Here is some information on the research of lightning and aircraft interaction.
http://www.sae.org/aeromag/features/aircraftlightning/
http://oea.larc.nasa.gov/PAIS/Concep...lightning.html
I've seen a video of some of these experiments, but I can't find it on the internet.
Lightning might have been a factor. There is some speculation that aircraft with composite material might be more vulnerable to lightning strikes - but as of now, that's speculation.
Commercial aircraft have lightning wicks (basically lightning rods) or protusions with which to facilitate the conduction current in a more controlled process.
Lightning Strikes Airplane [Boeing 747] During Takeoff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX6Xk0DRVvE
As Fred mentioned, it will be difficult to find in the mid Atlantic. The craft seems to have gone missing somewhere near the mid-Atlantic Ridge.
|
. . .
"The research area overhangs an underwater mountain range as big as the Andes," Prazuck said. "The underwater landscape is very steep."
. . . .
With nothing more to go on than the last point where Flight 447 made contact — about 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) northeast of the Brazilian coastal city of Natal — search teams faced an immense area of open ocean, with depths as much as 15,000 feet (4,570 meters).
|
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/brazil_plane