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Flight 447 Found: Air France Plane Crash Debris Discovered

by Rob Walker | June 2, 2009 at 10:14 am

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Search teams looking for any sign of the Air France Flight 447 have found pieces of debris that may be part of the plane. The Brazilian government has now confirmed that the debris is from Flight 447 which disappeared Sunday night.

The debris from Air France Flight 447 is spread over many miles in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Rescue crews are still standing by with hopes of finding some survivors in the ocean.

There are concerns that the black box flight recorder from Flight 447 may never be found. Electronic tracking data at air traffic control suggests that Air France Fight 447 recovered from a series of sudden nose-dives but finally was lost in the turbulence. Some experts have even suggested a lightning strike may have caused the plane to crash.

The disappearance of the Airbus A330 has fueled speculation that lightning, faulty electronics or pilot error may have brought the plane down. A navigation device used on the same type of plane recently malfunctioned on two flights, causing one to lose control.

The investigation is likely to be especially complex, made more vexing by the possible difficulties of finding wreckage that has either sunk to the bottom of the sea or dispersed over hundreds of miles of water.

Reports have also surfaced that pilots flying a commercial jet spotted what looked like fire in the Atlantic Ocean along the same flight path Air France Flight 447 was taking.

See the Passenger list for Flight 447.

The remnants, not yet confirmed to be the missing plane, have been spotted about 375 miles northeast of Brazil, according to the Brazil Air Force.

Brazilian Air Force spokesman Col. Jorge Amaral said authorities were investigating the pilots' sighting, according to the Agencia Brasil official news service.
"There is information that the pilot of a TAM aircraft saw several orange points on the ocean while flying over the region ... where the Air France plane disappeared," Amaral said. "After arriving in Brazil, the pilot found out about the disappearance (of the Air France plane) and said that he thought those points on the ocean were fire."

What is believed to be an airliner seat, a small white piece of metal and an orange life vest are among the items that were spotted from the air by search planes, said a Brazilian air force official, Lt.-Col. Ricardo Dechen.

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Mary Richard

at 05:22 on June 2nd, 2009

Thanks for posting. Here's the CNN link for map, story.

duo

at 07:13 on June 2nd, 2009

Thanks for the news, Rob. This is awful news. Air France already issued condolences to the families, I read on another story. So many lost!

chanaka

at 17:48 on June 2nd, 2009

It is a very sad and shocking thing. Thanks for the post with updtaes.

tonjaminst (not verified)

at 11:53 on June 3rd, 2009

This is very bad news. It seems when they saw the flames on the ocean it was pretty known what happened. Seems now each day they are finding more of the plane's remains and yet no people. With the way it sounds of the impact it is not looking as if anyone could have made it.

The uk news video or bbc video is on a local news site at http://www.zolaenterprises.com if you click news then click the link for the plane crash. That seems to tell about the bomb threat before as well as some other articles and news worth reading.

hidflect

at 18:24 on June 8th, 2009

No real point - just reflecting on this tragedy: it seems bizarre how many people lives are genuinely jolted and affected by one single, non-malicious accident. The families, of course, but then the air traffic controllers, other pilots, passengers, recovery teams, airbus staff, Air France employees, French, Brazilians and even people saddened just reading the news. Millions upon millions.

Maybe due to man's dream of flight, air travel is held in a uniquely different category to any other activity on earth. It may even be legitimately so, but I think I'll reflect on that the next time I hear 200 Chinese coal miners suffocate or get crushed to death while toiling underground which seems to be a regular occurrence often skated over by the MainStreamMedia.