Wreckage of 2009 Air France crash found

Pieces of the Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 have been found.

Travel Insurance News - 04/04/2011

<< Tourists in desperate rush for flights off Samui | Travel News | Foreign Office updates Japan travel advice >>

Underwater teams using sophisticated scientific instruments and remotely controlled submarines have found wreckage from the 2009 crash of an Air France jet. The incident, in which 228 people died when the plane was lost in heavy weather, has never been explained.

French investigators say teams using robot submersibles have so far not found the 'black boxes', flight data recorders that should contain important data about the ill-fated aircraft's last moments. Flight 447, which was flying from Brazil to France, was lost after it encountered an extremely heavy thunderstorm.

Last month, searchers began the fourth attempt to find the remains of the jet, which investigators hope will provide enough information for them to figure out exactly want went wrong on 1 June, 2009. On Sunday night, the BEA, France's accident investigation body, said some parts of the wreckage found by salvage workers had been identified as coming from Flight 447.

Initial search operations that were run after the plane disappeared was lost, led to serachers recovering 50 bodies. Hundreds of bits of debris from the crash were found, including the plane's tail, which had been torn off.

The last search failed to find the cockpit voice and data recorders, and ended in May of last year. The current search is being undertaken with the help of a deep-sea submersible called Alucia. Airbus, the manufacturer of the crashed plane, is financing the operation.

<< Tourists in desperate rush for flights off Samui | Travel News | Foreign Office updates Japan travel advice >>