Crash: Air France A332 over Atlantic on June 1st 2009, aircraft missing

By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, Jun 1st 2009 10:17Z, last updated Monday, Jun 1st 2009 11:22Z An Air France Airbus A330-200, registration F-GZCP performing flight AF-447 (dep May 31st) from Rio de Janeiro,RJ (Brazil) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) with 216 passengers and 12 crew, is overdue at Paris Charles de Gaulle for more than an hour. The airplane had departed Brazil's radar coverage... [more]

By Simon Hradecky, created Monday, Jun 1st 2009 10:17Z, last updated Monday, Jun 1st 2009 11:22Z An Air France Airbus A330-200, registration F-GZCP performing flight AF-447 (dep May 31st) from Rio de Janeiro,RJ (Brazil) to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France) with 216 passengers and 12 crew, is overdue at Paris Charles de Gaulle for more than an hour. The airplane had departed Brazil's radar coverage normally. A crisis and intervention center has been setup at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Brazil has launched a search and rescue operation off their coast along the last known radar positions near the Island of Fernando de Noronha after which the airplane had failed to establish required radio communication. There have been no reports of an unscheduled landing anywhere on Atlantic Islands or airports surrounding the Atlantic. French Authorities report, that the airplane would have run out of fuel by now. Last radio contact with the crew was about 3 hours into the flight at around 01:30Z. The crew reported flying through severe turbulence. Brasilian government sources report, that the airplane also disappeared from military radars (primary radars), that do not depend on transponder signals. Map (Courtesy Google Earth): [less]