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Air France Flight 447

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Air France Flight 447
An Air France Airbus A330-200 aircraft, similar to the missing plane
Occurrence
Date1 June 2009 (2009-06)
SummaryMissing
SiteAtlantic Ocean
Aircraft typeAirbus A330-200
OperatorAir France
RegistrationF-GZCP
Flight originRio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport
DestinationParis-Charles de Gaulle Airport
Passengers216
Crew12
FatalitiesUnknown
InjuriesUnknown

Air France Flight 447 was an Airbus 330-200, registration F-GZCP, operating as an international passenger flight from Galeão International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, which disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009,[1] with 216 passengers and 12 crew on board.[2][3] The fate of the aircraft and all on board is currently unknown.

Flight details

The Airbus A330-200, registration F-GZCP, first flew on 25 February 2005.[1] It left Rio de Janeiro on 31 May at 7:03 pm local time (22:03 UTC) and was scheduled to arrive at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 11:10 am local time (09:10 UTC).[3][4]

The last verbal contact with the plane was at 01:33 UTC, when the crew reported that nothing was out of the ordinary and that they expected to enter Senegalese-controlled airspace within 50 minutes.[5] The plane left Brazil Atlantic radar surveillance at 01:48 UTC. 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]

The Brazilian Air Force has started a search and rescue operation from the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha.[4] French reconnaissance planes have also been dispatched, including one from Dakar.[8] 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.[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 environment 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]

Passenger details

228 people are aboard the flight including three pilots and nine other cabin crew. The passengers are one infant, seven children, 82 women, and 126 men.[4]

Nationalities

Nationality Passengers Crew Total
 Brazil 80
 France at least 60
 Germany at least 25
 Hungary 4
 Italy ≈ 5
 China at least 2
 Denmark 3 missing
 Poland ≈ 2
 Portugal 1
Total 216 12 228

Although the nationalities of the passengers have not yet been released, most of them are assumed to be French, German and Brazilian. Air France estimates at least 60 French nationals are on board destined for Paris; this count does not include French nationals continuing to another destination.[14] 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."[15] Italian media have speculated that five Italian nationals are also on the plane.[16] Initial reports from the Danish media claimed that there were six Danes on board, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs later reported that only three are missing.[17]. Two Brazilian executives of Michelin & Cie. (including its CEO for Latin America), along with another French executive of the group, were passengers on the flight. The chairman of German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp’s Brazilian unit CSA was also on board.[18] Chinese media reports at least two Chinese nationals on board this aircraft; one is Overseas Chinese, and the other an employee of Chinese company Huawei.[19] The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that three Norwegians are missing.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b "Air France F-GZCP". AirFleets.net. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  2. ^ a b "Air France jet with 215 people on board 'drops off radar'". The Times. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  3. ^ a b "Press release by Air France". Air France. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "French plane lost in ocean storm". BBC News. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  5. ^ "Brazilian ministry details last track of missing Air France A330".
  6. ^ Air France Communiqué N° 2
  7. ^ a b "Missing jet reported short-circuit after turbulence". Reuters. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  8. ^ "Disparition d'un avion d'Air France: l'Airbus foudroyé". La Presse. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  9. ^ "Liste des vols au départ de RIO INTERNATIONAL et à destination de PARIS arrivant le 01-06-2009".
  10. ^ "Lightning Experiment May Help Better Protect Airplanes". Science Daily. 1999-07-08. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  11. ^ "Aucun espoir pour le vol Air France Rio-Paris (No Hope for Air France Flight from Rio to Paris)" (in French). L'Express (via Yahoo News). 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ "French plane crashed over Atlantic". The Guardian. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  14. ^ "Au moins 60 Français parmi les passagers du vol Rio-Paris (At least 60 French Among Passengers of Flight from Rio to Paris)" (in French). Reuters (via Yahoo News). 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  15. ^ "Britons could be on lost jet - PM". BBC News Online. BBC. June 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  16. ^ "Air France plane lost: Gordon Brown fears Britons were on board". BBC NEWS. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  17. ^ "Frygter at tre danskere var med i flystyrt (Fear that three Danes were in planecrash)" (in Danish). DR (Denmark's Radio). 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  18. ^ "Michelin, ThyssenKrupp executives on missing Airbus". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  19. ^ At Least Two Chinese on Board of This Flight China Central Television 2009-06-01
  20. ^ "Tre nordmenn savnet (Three Norwegians missing)" (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
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