New York, NY–An Air France Airbus A330-200 remains lost at sea after taking off from Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday, en route to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle International Airport. As covered by the New York Times late Monday afternoon, family members of the reported 216 passengers, 3 pilots, and 9 flight crew members remain awaiting information regarding the whereabouts of their missing loved ones. New York Times reporters say Brazilian aviation officials confirmed the Airbus disappeared between the Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha,186 miles northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, and Ilha do Sal, one of the Cape Verde Islands, off the coast of Africa, over the Atlantic Ocean.
Aviation accident experts assert this area of the Atlantic Ocean is three times the size of Europe. Air France flight 447 took off from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, en route to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle International Airport. Air France-KLM executives confirmed 32 nationalities are represented on the airplane including two Americans. The majority of the passengers and crew are Brazilian or European. The last verbal communication by pilots to air traffic controllers was three hours after the plane took off from Brazil. The pilots reported extremely heavy turbulence and an electrical storm. Apparently, about 14 minutes later, the plane’s automatic messaging systems alerted air traffic control officials of a loss in cabin pressure and an electrical system malfunction.
The Brazilian Air Force sent two planes, and three ships from the Brazilian Navy in search of the missing Airbus 330-200. The French Air Force sent planes from their base in Senegal, Africa to assist in the search of the lost Air France flight and Spain is also assisting in the effort.
Media Contact: New York personal injury attorney Jonathan C. Reiter an aviation accident lawyer. Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2811, New York, NY 10118. Telephone (212) 736-0979. www.jcreiterlaw.com
