An Air France jet, Flight 447, carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil immediately began a search mission off its northeastern coast. The flight left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time. The jet sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through an area of strong turbulence. Air France says in a statement the plane that carried 228 on board “crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence” at 10:00 p.m. EDT Sunday. It says “an automatic message was received at 0214 GMT (10:14 p.m. EDT Sunday) signaling electrical circuit malfunction.”
The plane disappeared about 190 miles 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.”
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