BRASILIA (AFP) – – Brazilian officials said late they have so far only recovered sea “trash” from a zone in the Atlantic where an Air France jet came down, and not aircraft debris as originally thought.
“Up to now, no material from the plane has been recovered,” Brigadier Ramon Cardoso, director of Brazilian air traffic control, told reporters in the northeastern city of Recife.
He said items pulled from the ocean Thursday and originally thought to come from downed Air France flight AF 477 actually came from another source, likely a ship. Read more…
RIO DE JANEIRO – Two officials say investigators in an Air France jet crash are looking at whether speed data instruments malfunctioned.
The officials, who have knowledge of the investigation, say an iced-over external probe or a bad speed sensor may have fed inaccurate data to onboard computers controlling the jet.
The officials spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the case.
Aviation analyst Bill Voss said if the plane was traveling too fast in heavy turbulence, it could break apart. If traveling too slow, it could stall.
The Airbus A330 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris Sunday night with 228 people on board. Airline officials say there were no survivors.
Source : By BRADLEY BROOKS and JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Writers
