Air France passenger jet vanishes from radar

[SeonaLuxury]

Thoughts and prayers to the families and loved ones of all on that aircraft.
This is such a tragic accident, I just hope it is not something which could have been avoided.
It is my only fear in my life to be in such an incident, those seconds before, knowing that its going down.
Very sad to happen in this day and age!

[Kiss Me Deadly]

I feel so sad for the families, its such a sad story.. how could a plane just vanish??

[elle1777]

ships are heading towards where they spotted some debris.. :(

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americ...ing/index.html

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- Three commercial ships were expected to arrive Tuesday at an Atlantic Ocean debris field that may be connected to an Air France jet that disappeared Monday with 228 people on board, Brazilian aviation officials said.


The Airbus 330 went missing over the Atlantic early Monday on the way from Brazil to France.
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Earlier Tuesday, searchers found an airplane seat, an orange life vest, small white fragments, an oil drum and signs of oil and kerosene about 700 kilometers (435 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, said Brazilian Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral.

There was not enough material to officially say it is wreckage from Flight 447, Amaral said.

The debris was found 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of the plane's expected flight path, another Brazilian Air Force official said. See map of suspected crash zone »

Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands around 355 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil.

An earlier report by a crew from the Brazilian airline TAM, who said they saw "shiny spots" in the sea along the route of Flight 447, also prompted a search in the territorial waters off the African nation of Senegal.

Senegal is northeast of Fernando de Noronha and also near the plane's presumed flight path. Watch how wreckage has been spotted in Atlantic »

The Airbus A330 encountered heavy turbulence early Monday, about three hours after beginning what was supposed to be an 11-hour flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, France, according to Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.

The plane carried 216 passengers -- 126 men, 82 women, seven children and a baby -- and 12 crew members, Air France said. Of the crew, 11 were French and one was Brazilian. Watch latest report on missing aircraft »

The majority of the presumed dead from the flight came from Brazil, France and Germany. The only two Americans on board -- Michael Harris, 60, and his wife, Anne, 54 -- were identified by the couple's family and his employer. In addition, victims came from 26 other countries.

"Anne and Mike were indeed a beautiful couple inside and out, and I miss them terribly already," said Anne Harris' sister, Mary Miley.

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Michael Harris was a geologist in Rio de Janeiro for Devon Energy, the largest U.S.-based independent natural gas and oil producer, according to a company spokesman.

The couple had lived in the city since July 2008 and was traveling to Paris for a training seminar for Michael and for a vacation, Miley told CNN.

Another passenger was Prince Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca, a member of Brazil's non-reigning royal family, his family confirmed Monday. Pedro Luis was 26.

In addition, a spokeswoman for the French tire company Michelin told CNN that two company executives were on board the aircraft. She identified them as the president of Michelin Latin America, Luiz Roberto Anastacio, and the director of informatics, Antonio Gueiros. She added that Michelin was very saddened by their presumed deaths.

The jet was 4 years old and had last undergone routine maintenance on April 16. Watch report on what could have caused aircraft to go down »

Its crew included three pilots, including a 58-year-old captain who had logged 11,000 hours in flight, and nine cabin crew members, Air France said in a statement. Some 1,700 of the captain's hours were on two Airbus models. Of the two co-pilots -- ages 37 and 32 -- one had 3,000 hours of flying experience and the other 6,600 hours. The aircraft had flown 18,870 hours, the statement said.

Of the passengers, 149 had planned to connect to flights going elsewhere in Europe or as far away as China, Gourgeon said.

"This is a catastrophe the likes of which has never seen before," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters at Charles de Gaulle International Airport, where he had met with relatives of those missing aboard the flight.

"I said the truth to them: The prospects of finding survivors are very low," he said. Watch comments from Sarkozy »

The jet, which was flying at 35,000 feet and at 521 mph, sent a warning that it had lost pressure, the Brazilian air force said.

The jet took off from Rio de Janeiro's Galeao International Airport at 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Its last known contact occurred at 02:33 a.m. Monday, the Brazilian air force spokesman said. It was not clear what that final contact was.

It was expected to check in with air traffic controllers at 03:20 a.m. but did not do so.

[Pinkcaviar]

Originally Posted by karo

This is soo sad. A real tragedy. I've read that ten salesmen from CGED, an electrical distributor, were on the plane with their spouses after winning a vacation to Brazil. This was an award to the best workers.

That is terrible. :(

[Jahpson]

I hope no TPFer was on that plane.

[dusty paws]

i just... can't imagine. i hope it just happened fast so they didn't know what was coming.

prayers to all the families of those who have lost a loved one.

[lostnexposed]

I dunno why but I just can't stop thinking about this incident!

[HauteMama]

Originally Posted by karo

This is soo sad. A real tragedy. I've read that ten salesmen from CGED, an electrical distributor, were on the plane with their spouses after winning a vacation to Brazil. This was an award to the best workers.

This is just haunting. My dh and I went on a trip to the Netherlands last fall because his company did well - many employees and spouses went along. My mother stayed with our children, but how many children will be left with no parents because of this tragedy? It is just such a heart-wrenching thought for ALL the families who lost parents, children, brothers, sisters.

[btobias]

OMG! How scary and sad.

[elle1777]

Originally Posted by lostnexposed

I dunno why but I just can't stop thinking about this incident!

Me neither! I always get scared when I'm flying long flights half way through the plane ride..I always think "wow this plane is over the ocean in the middle of no where" and try to distract myself not to think about it and freak out. I feel so sad for what those people must have gone through, I wonder how long they knew the plane was going down. Even if it was only a few seconds it must have been terrifying. I feel so bad for their families...no one is ever prepared to lose a loved one but they did not expect it at all. My thoughts go out to their families .

[BagAngel]

Yes we all tend to equate with the people on the plane knowing that they were going to die, that is the most horrendous part.

[divadivine682]

You know what? Im honestly getting more terrified of my upcoming flight to Maui in september for my honeymoon. I have a fear of flying so bad that some may say its irrational but come on! I've never been on a flight that long (3 hours tops going to Florida from NY) and I am now petrified to the point that I almost want to cancel it.

[Heath-kkf]

Really, you've got to think of it from the odds perspective. You're more likely to be killed in a car crash on the way to the airport than in a plane crash. Out of the thousands of commercial aircrafts that fly out everyday, this is the first time this has happened in 8 years.

The odds of dying in a plane crash are somewhere around 1 in 10 million.

[bagshopr]

I hate to fly and incidents like this only reinforce my problem. I know my fear is irrational and I miss out on a lot of trips because of it, but I just hate flying. I have flown many times and have always had wonderful flights so it is not because of any bad experience. Overall I am a very calm, sensible person but just the thought of an airplane cabin can make me feel queasy. My fear is that the plane will suddenly drop out of the sky- like it did for these poor people.
I take the train whenever possible. If I have to fly, I take Xanax.

[Vegas Long Legs]

Originally Posted by BagAngel

Yes we all tend to equate with the people on the plane knowing that they were going to die, that is the most horrendous part.

Maybe at the height they were at, they would of been deprived of oxygen & not really know what happened?

It would be so frightening to know your plane is crashing.