Air France flight AF447 lost en-route to Paris
June 1st, 2009 - 7:24 pm ICT by John Le Fevre
A massive air search is currently underway over the Atlantic Ocean 365km (226 miles) from Brazil’s coast for Air France flight AF447 en-route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
The plane, an Airbus A330 with 216 passengers and 12 crew onboard, disappeared from radar screens about 300km northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha at 0220 GMT (11.20pm BRT).
A crisis center has being set up at Charles de Gaulle where the plane had been due to land at 11.15am local Paris time (0915 GMT).
Air France spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said, “Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from Air France flight 447 flying from Rio to Paris. Air France shares the emotion and worry of the families concerned.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his “extreme worry” and sent the junior minister for transport, Dominique Bussereau, and Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo to Charles de Gaulle airport to monitor the situation.
The Airbus 330 is a twin-engine long-range aircraft introduced into commercial aviation in the 1990s and the craft operating flight AF447 is believed to have been delivered to Air France in April 2005.
The A300 Airbus is a stalwart of long-haul flights and has an impeccable safety record.
- Air France says flight AF447 has crashed - Jun 01, 2009
- Brazilians top Air France AF447 passenger list - Jun 02, 2009
- Air France jetliner goes missing over Atlantic Ocean - Jun 01, 2009
- Air France CEO mourns crash of flight AF447 with international passengers onboard - Jun 01, 2009
- French airliner missing over Atlantic, 228 on board (Third Lead) - Jun 01, 2009
- Air France AF447 black boxes found - Jun 23, 2009
- French airliner missing over Atlantic, 228 on board (Second Lead) - Jun 01, 2009
- AF447 flight of death official timeline - Jun 02, 2009
- Air France AF447 black boxes NOT found - Jun 23, 2009
- French airliner missing over Atlantic with 228 on board (Fifth Lead) - Jun 01, 2009
- Body of Air France AF447 pilot Marc Dubois found - Jun 25, 2009
- Missing Air France jet hit by electric fault (Fourth Lead) - Jun 01, 2009
- Investigators find black box from crashed Air France flight - May 02, 2011
- Bodies Found from downed Air France flight AF447 - Jun 07, 2009
- Body recovered from 2009 Air France flight - May 05, 2011
Tags: a300 airbus, AF447, air france flight, airbus 330, airbus a330, barrand, brazilian city, commercial aviation, dominique bussereau, fernando de noronha, french president nicolas, french president nicolas sarkozy, impeccable safety record, jean louis borloo, long haul flights, nicolas sarkozy, paris air, paris time, president nicolas sarkozy, radar screens, range aircraft