Air France 447 - Wreckage Found Could Be From Air France A330
Robert Wall/Paris
Updates on this story are also being posted at Things With Wings
The Brazilian defense ministry indicated the first signs of the Air France A330-200 that crashed Sunday night (local time) have been found.
Search teams found aircraft wreckage, but can't identify if it belongs to AF447, the defense ministry says.
The Brazilian air force's R-99 synthetic aperture radar-equipped surveilance aircraft detected the parts, around 650 kilometers north of Fernando de Noronha, from where the aircraft took off. That was followed by a C-130 spotting two areas of potential wreckage, around 60 kilometers apart. They included an orange ball, traces of oil and kerosene, and other items.
The sightings have come from aircraft and no rescue personnel have yet reached the crash scene. The Air France flight (AF447) from Rio de Janeiro to Paris was carrying 228 persons, all feared dead.
Reports out of Brazil say the wreckage was seen about 400 nautical miles northwest of Fernando de Noronha.
Few details have emerged on potential causal factors, beyond the fact the aircraft was flying through a storm and encountered severe turbulence. The A330 also transmitted a signal that it had encountered an electric circuit fault.
The Brazilian military mounted a large search operation, including C-130 transports, Super Puma and H-60 helicopters, and Bandeirante search and rescue aircraft.
Photo credit: Airbus
