Update (10.00 pm):Search operations continue to try to locate Flight 447 though hopes of survival fade away with every passing hour. Barring a miracle, the plane went down somewhere over the Atlantic possibly due to stormy conditions.
Of the 216 passengers on the missing plane, 61 were French and 58 are Brazilian. Passengers are on the flight also included people from Canada, Argentina, the U.S., and roughly 20 other nationalities.
(Links via MSNBC and BBC News).
Of the 216 passengers on the missing plane, 61 were French and 58 are Brazilian. Passengers are on the flight also included people from Canada, Argentina, the U.S., and roughly 20 other nationalities.
(Links via MSNBC and BBC News).
Original Post:
Brazilian air force planes are searching off the country’s coast after an Air France flight with over 200 people possibly crashed over the Atlantic.Flight AF 447 left Rio de Janeiro bound for Paris, France last night before all communication suddenly got cut off from the plane to air traffic controllers. According to a Brazilian Air Force spokesman, the plane disappeared off the island of Fernando de Noronha, a small island roughly 186 miles northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal. The search area itself is vast and finding the airliner will be a difficult task.
Air France officials claimed that the packed airliner was hit by lightning though also noted that the plane reported an electrical fault after hitting some rough turbulence. Whatever the case may be, French authorities have suspected the worst:
Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, the airline's chief executive, said: "We are probably facing an air catastrophe".Today’s occurrence is the first major incident in Brazilian air space since 199 people died in a TAM flight that crashed in Sao Paulo two years ago. That incident- coupled with a 2006 collision over the Amazon which killed over 150 people- had placed Brazil's beleaguered air traffic control system under close scrutiny.
Jean-Louis Borloo, France's environment minister, said the plane would have certainly run out of fuel by now, adding "we must now envisage the most tragic scenario"...
John Guntrip, a former crash investigator, said the plane's disappearance indicated a "catastrophic failure".
"The fact that the Brazilian authorities have released air search and rescue units ... would seem to indicate it has gone down fairly early on in the flight from Brazil," he told Al Jazeera.
Image- BBC News
Online Sources- Bloomberg, The Telegraph, Al Jazeera English, BBC News, Guardian UK, New York Times
6 comments:
I do not understand. ¿Aren´t this plane´s computers supposed to be fed with wheather information so automatic detours can be calculated in advance to avoid thunderstorms and lightning?
we pray that everyone are safe.
An Air France jet with 228 people on board is feared to have crashed in the ocean off the coast of Brazil.
Heard this on the radio earlier on my way back home from the mall. Air France flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared from the radar while flying over the Atlantic Ocean.
The video from the scene:Air France jet-video-online
LOST!
The Air France Flight 447 (Airbus A330) crash investigation will go on for another one and one half years. This is according to the French Investigation Director. The BEA has published a 72 page interim report on the investigation.
is a real shame what happened on this flight, I have faith that survivors are low but hope every day!
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