| | |  Americas & Beyond | June 2009 
Air France Jet Missing Over Atlantic, 228 on Board
 Alan Clendenning - Associated Press
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| | Undated file photo made available by Airbus, showing an Airbus A330-200 jetliner from the French company Air France. (AP/Airbus) | | |
Sao Paulo, Brazil — An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Atlantic Ocean, an Air France official said Monday. Brazil immediately began a search mission off its northeastern coast.
Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, was carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said. The flight left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time.
The plane disappeared about 190 miles (300 kilometers) northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, a Brazilian air force spokesman said. The air force began a search began Monday morning near Fernando de Noronha, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with air force policy.
The region is about 1,500 miles northeast of Rio.
An official with France's transport agency said contact with the plane was lost at 0220 GMT Monday (10:20 p.m. EDT Sunday). The official was not authorized to be named according to agency policy.
Barrand said the airline installed an information center at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for the families of those aboard.
"Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from Air France flight 447 flying from Rio to Paris," she said. "Air France shares the emotion and worry of the families concerned."
The flight was scheduled to arrive in Paris at 0915 GMT (5:15 a.m. EDT), according to the airport.
Airbus declined to comment until more details emerge.
France's minister in charge of transport, Jean-Louis Borloo, said there was a "real pessimism at this hour" about the fate of the aircraft.
"We can fear the worst," he said on Europe-1 radio.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his "extreme worry" and sent ministers to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport to monitor the situation.
Associated Press reporters Emma Vandore, Laurent Lemel and Laurent Pirot reported from Paris
Timeline of Disappearance of Air France Jet
Associated Press
Timeline of events surrounding the disappearance of Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, according to Air France:
• 2219 GMT Sunday (6:19 p.m. EDT Sunday): left Rio de Janeiro
• 0130 GMT Monday (9:30 p.m. EDT Sunday) last contact with Brazil air traffic control.
• 0200 GMT Monday (10 p.m. EDT Sunday): plane entered zone of storms and high turbulence
• 0214 GMT Monday (10:16 p.m. EDT Sunday): Air France receives automatic message indicating electrical circuit malfunction.
• 0500-0600 GMT Monday (1-2 a.m. EDT Monday): French military radar begins searching for plane.
• 0730 GMT Monday (3:30 a.m. EDT): Air France sets up crisis center
• 0915 GMT Monday (5:15 a.m. EDT): plane's scheduled arrival in Paris.
A Glance at the Airbus A330-200
Associated Press
Some details about the Airbus A330-200 jets, after one disappeared Monday en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
• According to the Aviation Safety Network, there has not been a fatal accident for this type of plane since a 1994 test flight blamed on the type of the test and its execution by the crew.
• Twin-engine, long-haul, medium-capacity passenger jet, a shortened version of the standard A330
• First A330-200 put into service: 1998
• Number in use worldwide: 341
• Length: 58.8 meters (190 feet) long
• Capacity: 253 passengers in standard configuration; 293 in a two-class configuration.
• Maximum distance: Up to 7,760 miles (12,500 kilometers), allowing it to travel routes such as Paris-Singapore, Paris-Los Angeles or Dubai-London.
• Airlines using it: include Air France, KLM, Northwest Airlines, Jet Airways, Turkish Airlines, Air China, China Sputhern Airlines. |
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