Gumleaf
June 1st, 2009, 08:26 PM
05:21 AEST Tue Jun 2 2009
Spotter planes are today hunting for the wreckage of an Air France jet that was lost in a fierce electrical storm over the Atlantic with 228 people on board.
"The prospects of finding any survivors are very slim," a grim President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talking to stunned relatives. "It's a catastrophe the likes of which Air France has never seen."
Air France said the Airbus A330 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris was probably hit by lightning, triggering an electrical fault. Experts said it was unlikely that this alone could have caused a catastropic loss of control.
If, as expected, it is confirmed that all 228 people on Flight AF 447 are dead, it would mark the worst loss of life in Air France's history and civil aviation's worst accident for more than a decade.
The Brazilian, Spanish and French air forces sent out search planes to scour a vast area of ocean between Brazil and Africa. Paris also asked Washington to use its spy satellites and listening posts to help.
"We are without a doubt faced with an aviation catastrophe. The entire company is thinking of the families and shares their pain," Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said.
At Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, tearful relatives were ushered into a private area to await developments and get counselling from a team of psychologists.
"Air France addresses its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the passengers and crew members who were on board flight number AF 447," the airline said on its website.
No emergency beacons, which are trackable by satellite unless they sink deep into the ocean, were detected, suggesting the twin-engine airliner crashed violently, said Philippe Hazanne of the French space studies agency.
French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo, whose portolio includes transport, said hijacking had been ruled out.
Air France said the 216 passengers included 126 men, 82 women, seven children and a baby. There were 12 French crew members.
The passengers hailed from 32 countries, including 61 from France, 58 from Brazil and 26 from Germany.
At Rio's Tom Jobim International Airport stunned relatives were ushered off to a closed lounge, away from the news media and into the care of psychologists and doctors.
One woman, Vasti Ester van Sluijs, said she had jumped into a taxi as soon as she heard the overnight Air France flight had disappeared.
"My daughter Adriana Francesca was on the plane," she said.
A man who gave his name as Bernard had despair in his voice as he explained his brother and sister-in-law were also on the missing Airbus. "I called Air France right away, and they told me they didn't have information," he said.
In Paris, Gourgeon said the flight hit fierce turbulence at about 12pm yesterday (AEST), about four hours after it left Rio. Fourteen minutes later, he added, it sent an automatic error message reporting an electrical fault.
"The most likely thing is that the plane was hit by lightning," said Francois Brousse, Air France's director of communications. "The airplane was in a stormy area with strong turbulence, which provoked problems."
Airbus said the A330 has a good safety record, with no fatalities ever on a commercial flight. One did crash in 1994 during a test flight in southern France, however, killing seven people on board.
Last week Air France announced its first net loss since it merged with Dutch airline KLM in 2003 to create Europe's biggest airline.
In July 2000 all 109 passengers and crew plus four people on the ground were killed when a supersonic Air France Concorde crashed during takeoff from Charles de Gaulle airport. All Concordes were eventually taken out of service.
On August 3, 2005, an Air France A340 with 309 on board skidded off the runway after landing in a thunderstorm at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Fourteen people suffered minor injuries.
Spotter planes are today hunting for the wreckage of an Air France jet that was lost in a fierce electrical storm over the Atlantic with 228 people on board.
"The prospects of finding any survivors are very slim," a grim President Nicolas Sarkozy said after talking to stunned relatives. "It's a catastrophe the likes of which Air France has never seen."
Air France said the Airbus A330 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris was probably hit by lightning, triggering an electrical fault. Experts said it was unlikely that this alone could have caused a catastropic loss of control.
If, as expected, it is confirmed that all 228 people on Flight AF 447 are dead, it would mark the worst loss of life in Air France's history and civil aviation's worst accident for more than a decade.
The Brazilian, Spanish and French air forces sent out search planes to scour a vast area of ocean between Brazil and Africa. Paris also asked Washington to use its spy satellites and listening posts to help.
"We are without a doubt faced with an aviation catastrophe. The entire company is thinking of the families and shares their pain," Air France chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said.
At Charles de Gaulle airport, north of Paris, tearful relatives were ushered into a private area to await developments and get counselling from a team of psychologists.
"Air France addresses its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the passengers and crew members who were on board flight number AF 447," the airline said on its website.
No emergency beacons, which are trackable by satellite unless they sink deep into the ocean, were detected, suggesting the twin-engine airliner crashed violently, said Philippe Hazanne of the French space studies agency.
French Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo, whose portolio includes transport, said hijacking had been ruled out.
Air France said the 216 passengers included 126 men, 82 women, seven children and a baby. There were 12 French crew members.
The passengers hailed from 32 countries, including 61 from France, 58 from Brazil and 26 from Germany.
At Rio's Tom Jobim International Airport stunned relatives were ushered off to a closed lounge, away from the news media and into the care of psychologists and doctors.
One woman, Vasti Ester van Sluijs, said she had jumped into a taxi as soon as she heard the overnight Air France flight had disappeared.
"My daughter Adriana Francesca was on the plane," she said.
A man who gave his name as Bernard had despair in his voice as he explained his brother and sister-in-law were also on the missing Airbus. "I called Air France right away, and they told me they didn't have information," he said.
In Paris, Gourgeon said the flight hit fierce turbulence at about 12pm yesterday (AEST), about four hours after it left Rio. Fourteen minutes later, he added, it sent an automatic error message reporting an electrical fault.
"The most likely thing is that the plane was hit by lightning," said Francois Brousse, Air France's director of communications. "The airplane was in a stormy area with strong turbulence, which provoked problems."
Airbus said the A330 has a good safety record, with no fatalities ever on a commercial flight. One did crash in 1994 during a test flight in southern France, however, killing seven people on board.
Last week Air France announced its first net loss since it merged with Dutch airline KLM in 2003 to create Europe's biggest airline.
In July 2000 all 109 passengers and crew plus four people on the ground were killed when a supersonic Air France Concorde crashed during takeoff from Charles de Gaulle airport. All Concordes were eventually taken out of service.
On August 3, 2005, an Air France A340 with 309 on board skidded off the runway after landing in a thunderstorm at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Fourteen people suffered minor injuries.