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Missing French jet hit thunderstorms over Atlantic
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-01 19:05 SAO PAULO -- A missing Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris ran into lightning and strong thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Monday. Brazil began a search mission off its northeastern coast.
Chief Air France spokesman Francois Brousse said "it is possible" the plane was hit by lightning. Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT, 6 p.m. EDT) with 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand. About four hours later, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said.
Brazil's Air Force said the last contact it had with the Air France jet was at 0136 GMT (9:30 p.m. EDT Sunday), but did not say where the plane was then. Brazil's air force was searching near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Natal, a spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy. The region is about 1,500 miles northeast of Rio. In Washington, a Pentagon official said he'd seen no indication that terrorism or foul play was involved. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the subject. Douglas Ferreira Machado, the head of investigation for Brazil's Civil Aeronautics Agency, told Globo TV the plane could have been near the coast of Africa by the time contact was lost, based on the speed it was traveling. "It's going to take a long time to carry out this search," he said. "It could be a long, sad story. The black box will be at the bottom of the sea." Air France-KLM CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, at a news conference at Charles de Gaulle Airport north of Paris, said the pilot had 11,000 hours of flying experience, including 1,700 hours flying this aircraft. No name was released. "We are without doubt facing an air catastrophe," Gourgeon said. "At this time, the plane's fuel reserves would not permit it to still be in flight." He said the plane was "very far" from Brazilian coast when last contact was made, without providing details. |
