One of my favorite CNN quotes from the day: "Video taken soon after the crash and posted on YouTube showed dark gray smoke rising from the plane, which appeared to be upright. That smoke later became white, even as fire crews continued to douse the plane."
Uh... that's what happens when you put water on fire... you get steam, which condenses into white clouds.
That's a basic rule of firefighting... black bad, white good (and when it comes to structural firefighting, brown really bad).
White smoke that is slow or lazy is most likely indicative
of early-stage heating. One more important note about smoke
color: brown smoke. Unfinished wood gives off a distinctive
brown smoke as it approaches late-stage heating (just prior
to flaming). In many cases, the only unfinished wood in a
structure are the wall studs, floor joists, and roof
rafters/trusses (photo 3). This can tell you that the fire
is transitioning from a contents fire to a structural fire.
Using our knowledge of building construction-especially
lightweight structural components and gusset plates-brown
smoke issuing from gable-end vents, eaves, and floor seams
becomes a warning sign of impending collapse.
In a house fire, brown smoke generally signifies structural fire, rather than the contents. I have no idea about aircraft. The situation matters, I would assume. Reading smoke is more art than actual science.
Uh... that's what happens when you put water on fire... you get steam, which condenses into white clouds.
That's a basic rule of firefighting... black bad, white good (and when it comes to structural firefighting, brown really bad).