Air France Flight 447: Difference between revisions
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The chief executive of Air France, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, said in a news conference: "We are probably facing an air catastrophe." A spokesman for Air France has speculated that the aircraft may have been struck by lightning,<ref name="Reuters1"/> although this rarely causes aircraft to crash.<ref name="Science1">{{citeweb|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/07/990707112403.htm|title=Lightning Experiment May Help Better Protect Airplanes|publisher=Science Daily|date=1999-07-08|accessdate=2009-06-01}}</ref> |
The chief executive of Air France, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, said in a news conference: "We are probably facing an air catastrophe." A spokesman for Air France has speculated that the aircraft may have been struck by lightning,<ref name="Reuters1"/> although this rarely causes aircraft to crash.<ref name="Science1">{{citeweb|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/07/990707112403.htm|title=Lightning Experiment May Help Better Protect Airplanes|publisher=Science Daily|date=1999-07-08|accessdate=2009-06-01}}</ref> |
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French minister [[Jean-Louis Borloo]] stated "by now it would be beyond its [[kerosene]] reserves" and "we must now envisage the most tragic scenario". Paris-Charles-De-Gaulle airport sources quoted by the French magazine ''[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]'' said there was "no hope for survivors." |
French minister [[Jean-Louis Borloo]] stated "by now it would be beyond its [[kerosene]] reserves" and "we must now envisage the most tragic scenario". Paris-Charles-De-Gaulle airport sources quoted by the French magazine ''[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]'' said there was "no hope for survivors." <ref>{{cite news|title=Aucun espoir pour le vol Air France Rio-Paris|url=http://fr.news.yahoo.com/78/20090601/tfr-aucun-espoir-pour-le-vol-air-france-9e39cb8.html|publisher=L'Express|language=French|date=2009-06-01|accessdate=2009-06-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Air France 'loses hope' after plane drops off the radar en route from Brazil to Paris with 228 people on board|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1190034/Air-France-plane-drops-radar-en-route-Brazil-Paris-228-people-board.html|publisher=Daily Mail|date=2009-06-01|accessdate=2009-06-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/01/air-france-crash-a330-brazil|title=French plane crashed over Atlantic |date=2009-06-01 |accessdate=2009-06-01 |publisher=The Guardian}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 15:15, 1 June 2009
 | This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. |
 An Airbus A330-200 aircraft of the type missing | |
| Occurrence | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 1, 2009 |
| Summary | Missing |
| Site | Atlantic Ocean |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A330-200 |
| Operator | Air France |
| Registration | F-GZCP |
| Flight origin | Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport |
| Destination | Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport |
| Passengers | 216 |
| Crew | 12 |
| Fatalities | Unknown |
| Injuries | Unknown |
Air France Flight 447 is an international passenger flight from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, the aircraft operating it disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft is an Airbus A330-200, registered F-GZCP,[1] with 216 passengers and 12 crew on board, including 3 pilots.[2][3]
Flight details
The Airbus A330-200, registration F-GZCP, first flew on 25 January 2005.[1] It left Rio de Janeiro on May 31 at 7:03 pm local time (12:03 am on June 1 in Paris) and was scheduled to arrive at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 11:10 am local time.[3][4]
The plane went off radar at 01:33 UTC. [5] The last contact with the aircraft was four hours after take-off at 02:14 UTC[4] when an automatic message indicated an electrical short-circuit and failure of the electrical system. The aircraft encountered strong turbulence during the flight.[4][6][7] In its first statement the Paris airport authority initially said that contact was lost much later, at 06:00 UTC, at which time it should have been much nearer to Europe, probably off the Azores.[2]
Reaction and search
The Brazilian Air Force has started a search and rescue operation from the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.[4] Brazilian air force spokesman Col Henry Munhoz told Brazilian TV that radar on the Cape Verde Islands failed to pick up the aircraft over the Atlantic Ocean: "Air Force planes left Fernando de Noronha and are flying towards Europe to start the search for the missing plane."[4] By late morning flight AF447 had been removed from the list of flights on the Aéroports de Paris website.[8]
The Air France plane that disappeared between Brazil and France with 228 people on board today has almost certainly crashed with no survivors, airline and government officials said. They believe that the Airbus A330-200 aircraft crashed after running into lightning and thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown said he feared Britons were among the passengers. "I do fear there may be some British citizens on board," the prime minister told Sky News. "We are doing all the checking that is necessary."[9]
The chief executive of Air France, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, said in a news conference: "We are probably facing an air catastrophe." A spokesman for Air France has speculated that the aircraft may have been struck by lightning,[7] although this rarely causes aircraft to crash.[10]
French minister Jean-Louis Borloo stated "by now it would be beyond its kerosene reserves" and "we must now envisage the most tragic scenario". Paris-Charles-De-Gaulle airport sources quoted by the French magazine L'Express said there was "no hope for survivors." [11][12][13]
References
- ^ a b "Air France F-GZCP". AirFleets.net. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ a b "Air France jet with 215 people on board 'drops off radar'". The Times. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ a b "Press release by Air France". Air France. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ a b c d e "French plane lost over Atlantic". BBC News. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Timeline of Flight AF 447".
- ^ Air France Communiqué N° 2
- ^ a b "Missing jet reported short-circuit after turbulence". Reuters. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Liste des vols au départ de RIO INTERNATIONAL et à destination de PARIS arrivant le 01-06-2009".
- ^ "Britons could be on lost jet - PM". BBC News Online. BBC. June 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Lightning Experiment May Help Better Protect Airplanes". Science Daily. 1999-07-08. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Aucun espoir pour le vol Air France Rio-Paris" (in French). L'Express. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Air France 'loses hope' after plane drops off the radar en route from Brazil to Paris with 228 people on board". Daily Mail. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "French plane crashed over Atlantic". The Guardian. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
External links
