Latest on the Lost Air France A-330 AF447
As the search for passengers from flight AF447 continues, Air France has announced it’s accelerating the replacement of Airbus speed monitors.
As the search for passengers from flight AF447 continues, Air France has announced it’s accelerating the replacement of Airbus speed monitors.

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Contact photographer Neil Guinea
What: Air Canada Airbus A330-300 en route from Vancouver, BC to Tokyo, Japan
Where: Vancouver
When: June 4th 2009
Who: 147 people on board
Why: The Airbus experienced pressurization issues en route. The plane returned to Vancouver and landed safely an hour after it left.

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Contact photographer Paul Stam
What: Aer Lingus Airbus A321-200 en route from Dublin to London
Where: Dublin Airport
When: Jun 6th 2009 11: 30 am.
Who:
Why: Coming out of London the Airbus was struck by lightning. The flight returned to London, and landed safely. Passengers debarked half an hour after they had gotten on, and booked other flights as the Airbus was examined for damage.
What: United Airlines flight from Pittsburgh to Denver
Where: emergency landing in Moline, Illinois
When: June 4 2009, 8:00 a.m
Who: 67 passengers 4 crew
Why: The pilot reported smoke in the cockpit and electrical problems, and requested an emergency landing. The landing proceeded safely and no fire was found.
What: Northwest Airlines Flight 335 Boeing 757 en route from Detroit to Los Angeles.
Where: Waterloo
When: on Tuesday morning
Who: 182 passengers
Why: An hour into the flight, the crew smelled smoke and diverted to Waterloo. Northwest is flying mechanics in on a substitute 757.
Timeline of the disappearance of Air France flight 447:
All times are universal time, or Greenwich Mean Time. At this time of year, Seattle is seven hours behind GMT.
May 31:
22:03 — Air France flight 447 departs from Rio de Janeiro. (Brazilian Air Force says plane left at 22:30.)
June 1:
01:30 — Plane has last contact with Brazil air traffic control, where it is 351 miles from the city of Natal.
01:48 — Brazilian Air Force has last radar contact. Plane appears to be flying normally.
02:00 — Aircraft hits a zone of stormy weather with strong turbulence
02:14 — An automatic message was received from the aircraft at indicating a failure in the electric circuit a long way from the coast.
02:20 — Plane fails to make previously scheduled radio contact with Brazil. Brazil notifies air traffic control in Dakar, Senegal.
05:00 – 06:00 — Brazilian, African, Spanish and French air traffic control centers try to make contact with the flight, but are not successful. The French military air traffic control center cannot detect the aircraft.
05:30 — Brazilian Air Force starts a search and rescue mission
07:30 — Air France sets up a crisis center
09:15 — Flight was expected to arrive in Paris
11:31 — Air France announces the following: “Air France regrets to announce that it has lost contact with flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, expected to arrive this morning at 11:15 local time.”
13:10 — Air France announces the following: “Air France regrets to confirm the disappearance of flight AF 447 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, scheduled to arrive at 11:10am local time today, as announced to the press by Air France CEO, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.”
13:59 — Air France reports that it has sent all of the information it has regarding the flight to the French Accident Investigation Bureau for civil aviation (BEA) and to Airbus
14:44 — By this time, the airplane is expected to have run out of fuel. Air France publicizes “its deepest sympathy to the relatives and friends of the passengers and crew who were on board AF flight 447 on 31 May 2009, which disappeared somewhere between Rio de Janeiro and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.”
Airbus also announces, “Airbus regrets to confirm that an Airbus A330-200 operated by Air France has been lost about 3.5 hours after departure.”
18:13 — Air France releases a list of the nationalities on board
(Sources:
“Flight Safety Information” is a service of:
Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP
CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC
(Targeting Safety & Risk Management)
curt@curt-lewis.com
www.curt-lewis.com
www.fsinfo.org)
Paris, 01 June 2009 – 16:44 local time
Press release N° 4
Air France expresses its deepest sympathy to the relatives and friends of the passengers and crew who were on board AF flight 447 on 31 May 2009, which disappeared somewhere between Rio de Janeiro and Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
Air France is doing its utmost to provide support to relatives and friends: counselling with physicians and psychologists as well as specially trained Air France volunteers has been set up at the airports of Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2 and Rio de Janeiro.
Air France has also established a special toll-free number for the attention of relatives and friends of passengers who may have been on board. They can use this number to obtain information on whether or not a member of their family or friends was on board.
Phone number reserved for relatives and friends
0800 800 812 in France,
0800 881 20 20 in Brazil,
and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 for calls from all other countries.
Air France will release further information as soon as it is available.
NB: We ask journalists not to call this number, which is reserved for relatives and close friends.
Português
Air France dirige suas sinceras condolências às famílias e amigos dos passageiros e membros da tripulação que se encontravam a bordo do voo AF 447 do dia 31 de maio, desaparecido entre o Rio de Janeiro e Paris Charles de Gaulle.
A Air France está concentrando todos os seus esforços em dar suporte às famílias e parentes: uma assistência psicológica foi instalada no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 e no aeroporto do Rio de Janeiro. Ela é composta de médicos e psicólogos, assim como voluntários da empresa, especialmente treinados para estas situações.
A empresa também colocou à disposição um número de telefone toll free especial de atendimento às famílias dos passageiros. Ela informa, conforme solicitação, de uma eventual presença a bordo de um familiar.
Números de telefone reservados às famílias
0800 881 20 20 para o Brasil,
0800 800 812 para a França,
e 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países
Air France comunicará outras informações assim que elas estiverem disponíveis.
NB : Solicitamos aos jornalistas que NÃO liguem para este número, reservado às famílias.
Paris, 01 June 2009 – 15:59 local time
Press release N° 3
Air France has sent all the information in its possession on the disappearance of flight AF 447 operating the Rio de Janeiro – Paris-Charles de Gaulle route to the French Accident Investigation Bureau for civil aviation (BEA), the French organization in charge of technical investigations into civil aviation incidents and accidents, and to the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. Air France is in permanent contact with the BEA and Airbus.
The Airbus A330-200 aircraft, registration F-GZCP, left Rio on 31 May at 7:03pm local time (12:03am in Paris). The aircraft hit a zone of stormy weather with strong turbulence at 2am this morning (universal time), i.e. 4am in Paris. An automatic message was received from the aircraft at 2:14am (4:14am in Paris) indicating a failure in the electric circuit in an area a long way off the coast.
The aircraft was powered with General Electric CF6-80E engines.
The aircraft had totalled 18,870 flight hours and went into service on 18 April 2005.
Its last maintenance check in the hangar took place on 16 April 2009.
Air France shares the anxiety and distress of the families concerned. The families are being taken care of in a specially reserved area of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2.
A toll-free number has been opened at 0800 800 812 in France,
at 0800 881 20 20 in Brazil
and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 for calls from outside France.
NB: We ask journalists not to call this number, which is reserved for families and close relatives.
Português
Air France informou ao Bureau de Investigação e Análises para a Segurança de Aviação civil, organismo responsavél na França pelas investigações técnicas sobre acidentes e incidentes da aviação civil, e para a Airbus, fabricante do avião, as informações que tem em seu poder após o desaparecimento do voo AF 447, fazendo a ligação Rio de Janeiro – Paris-Charles de Gaulle : a companhia está em contato permanente com o Bureau e com a Airbus.
A aeronave, do tipo Airbus A330-200, matrícula F-GZCP, deixou o Rio dia 31 de maio às 19h03 (hora local).
A aeronave atravessou uma zona de tempestade com fortes turbulências às 2 horas da manhã (horário TU) – 23 horas horário do Brasil. Uma mensagem automática foi recebida às 2h14 da manhã (horário TU = 23h14 horário do Brasil) indicando uma pane do circuito elétrico numa zona afastada da costa.
A aeronave é equipada de motores General Electric CF6-80E.
O avião tem um total de 18 870 horas de voo e começou a operar em 18 de abril de 2005.
A última visita de manutenção em hangar foi feita em 16 de abril de 2009.
A Air France divide a emoção e a inquietação das famílias envolvidas. Os familiares serão recebidos num local especialmente reservado no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 assim como no Salão Nobre do Galeão.
Um toll free está disponível :
0800 881 2020 para o Brasil
0800 800 812 para a França,
e + 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países
NB : Solicitamos aos jornalistas que NÃO liguem para este número, reservado às famílias.
Paris, 01 June 2009 – 15:10 local time
Press release N° 2
Air France regrets to confirm the disappearance of flight AF 447 flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, scheduled to arrive at 11:10am local time today, as announced to the press by Air France CEO, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.
The Airbus A330-200, registration F-GZCP, left Rio on 31 May at 7:03pm local time (12:03am in Paris).
The aircraft hit a zone of stormy weather with strong turbulence at 2am this morning (universal time), i.e. 4am in Paris. An automatic message was received from the aircraft at 2:14am (4 :14am in Paris) indicating a failure in the electric circuit a long way from the coast.
The Brazilian, African, Spanish and French air traffic control centres all tried to make contact with flight AF 447 but to no avail. The French military air traffic control centre tried to detect the aircraft but did not succeed.
216 passengers were on board: 126 men, 82 women, 7 children and one infant.
There were 12 flight crew members: 3 pilots and 9 flight attendants.
The flight captain had a record of 11,000 flight hours and had already flown 1,700 hours on Airbus A330/A340s.
Of the two first officers, one had flown 3,000 flight hours (800 of which on the Airbus A330/A340) and the other 6,600 (2,600 on the Airbus A330/A340).
The aircraft was powered by General Electric CF6-80E engines.
The aircraft had totalled 18,870 flight hours and went into service on 18 April 2005.
Its last maintenance check in the hangar took place on 16 April 2009.
Air France fully shares the anxiety and distress of the families concerned. The families are being taken care of in a specially reserved area of Paris-Charles de Gaulle Terminal 2.
A toll-free number has been opened at 0800 800 812 for calls from France,
and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 for calls from outside France.
NB: We ask journalists not to call this number, which is reserved for families and close relatives.
Português
A Air France lamenta informar o desaparecimento do voo AF 447 que efetuava a ligação entre Rio de Janeiro e Paris-Charles de Gaulle, chegada prevista às 11h10 (hora local), acaba de anunciar o Diretor Geral da Air France, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.
A aeronave, do tipo Airbus A330-200, matrícula F-GZCP, deixou o Rio dia 31 de maio às 19h03 (hora local).
A aeronave atravessou uma zona de tempestade com fortes turbulências às 2 horas da manhã (horário TU) – 23 horas horário do Brasil. Uma mensagem automática foi recebida às 2h14 da manhã (horário TU = 23h14 horário do Brasil) indicando uma pane do circuito elétrico numa zona afastada da costa.
O conjunto dos controles aéreos civis brasileiro, africano, espanhol e francês tentaram em vão estabelecer contato com o voo AF 447. O controle aéreo militar francês tentou detectar o avião, sem sucesso.
216 passageiros estão a bordo : 126 homens, 82 mulheres, 7 crianças e um bebê.
A tripulação é composta por 12 pessoas : 3 tripulantes técnicos e 9 comissários.
O comandante tem 11 mil horas de voo e já tinha efetuado 1700 horas no Airbus A330/A340.
Os dois co-pilotos possuem: um 3000 horas de voo, sendo 800 horas em Airbus A330/A340 e o outro 6600, sendo 2 600 em Airbus A330/A340.
A aeronave é equipada de motores General Electric CF6-80E.
O avião tem um total de 18 870 heures de voo e começou a operar em 18 de abril de 2005.
A última visita de manutenção em hangar foi feita em 16 de abril de 2009.
A Air France divide a emoção e a inquietação das famílias envolvidas. Os familiares serão recebidos num local especialmente reservado no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 assim como no do Galeão.
Um toll free está disponível :
0800 881 2020 para o Brasil
0800 800 812 para a França,
e + 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países
NB : Solicitamos aos jornalistas que NÃO liguem para este número, reservado às famílias
Paris, 01 June 2009 – 13:31 local time
First press release
Air France regrets to announce that it has lost contact with flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, expected to arrive this morning at 11:15 local time.
The flight left Rio on 31 May at 7pm local time.
216 passengers are on board.
There are 12 crew members on board: 3 pilots and 9 cabin crew.
The following toll-free number is available in France: 0800 800 812,
and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 outside France.
Air France fully shares the anxiety and distress of the families of the passengers concerned. The families are been taken care of in a specially reserved area at Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2 airport.
Português
Air France lamenta informar que se encontra sem notícias do voo AF 447 que efetuava a ligação entre Rio de Janeiro e Paris Charles de Gaulle, com chegada prevista às 11h15 da manhã (hora local).
O voo decolou do Rio no dia 31 de maio às 19 horas locais.
216 passageiros estão a bordo.
A tripulação é composta de 12 pessoas : 3 tripulantes técnicos e 9 comissários.
Um toll free está disponível :
0800 800 812 para a França,
e + 33 1 57 02 10 55 para outros países
A Air France divide a emoção e a inquietação das famílias envolvidas. Os familiares serão recebidos num local especialmente reservado no aeroporto de Paris Charles de Gaulle 2 assim como no do Galeão.

Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Gabriel Widyna
Family members can call — 0 800 800 812 for people in France and 00 33 1 57 02 10 55 for families outside France.
What: 4 year old Air France Airbus A330-200 en route from Rio de Janeiro,RJ (Brazil) to Paris Charles de Gaulle
Where: Missing over the Atlantic Ocean
When: June 1
Who: In all, there were 216 passengers (incl seven children and one baby, 82 women and 126 men) and 12 crew. 60 French citizens were on the plane. Italy said at least three passengers were Italian.The pilot had 11,000 hours of flying experience, and 1,700 hours flying this aircraft.
Why: The last known radio contact was an automatic message made at 0133 GMT when the plane was near the Island of Fernando de Noronha; since then, the airplane has made no radio communication. Fifteen minutes after flying through a storm and strong turbulence, there was an electrical short-circuit. There is speculation that the plane may have been hit by lightning.
Search planes left Fernando de Noronha Island looking for signs of the plane concentrating in an area 230 miles off the northeast Brazil coast. Though there is not radar over the entire ocean, the black box will be emit a signal even if it is under water.
The flight left Rio at 7 p.m. and was expected in Paris on Monday at 11:15 a.m. By now, fuel would have run out.
Families of the missing are being brought to an information centre at Charles de Gaulle airport.

Contact photographer Ian Older
What: Lufthansa Airbus A340-600 en route from San Francisco,CA to Munich Germany
Where: Munich
When: May 29th 2009
Who: 277 passengers
Why: When landing flaps failed, the Airbus prepared for an emergency landing. Fortunately, though the plane landed too fast, there was no serious consequence to the flap failure. Reportedly the plane was repaired and returned to service hours later.
George’s Point of View
It’s a good thing they weren’t landing at Sao Paulo, or another airport with a short runway–
What: SAS Norway Boeing 737-700 en route from Oslo Gardermoen Norway to Malaga Spain
Where: Gardermoen Airport
When: May 30th 2009
Who: 134 passengers
Why: After takeoff, airspeed numbers did not agree. The crew landed back at the airport about half an hour after takeoff. Passengers were flown to their destinations on an alternative Boeing 737-800.
Mechanics found the problem. A bee had flown into one of the plane’s air speed sensors (pitot tube).
George’s Point of View
A good thing that the pilot was able to land the plane and discover the problem.
What: Delta Flight 680 en route from Atlanta from Ecuador
Where: Orlando
When: May 29 2009
Who: 118
Why: Three passengers became sick because of possible food poisoning before boarding the plane.. Two of the passengers were transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment. The third passenger declined treatment.
George’s Point of View
Find the chef-
And fire him…
What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320-200 en route from Victoria to Sao Paulo Congonhas
Where: Campinas
When: May 27th 2009
Who: 100 passengers
Why: On approach to Congonhas, the plane’s communication with air traffic control was interrupted. Because of the interference, the plane diverted to Campinas where it made a safe landing.
Brazil has a history of problems with reception in areas of the Amazon; but in this case, in Sao Paulo, the radio problems caused several flights to be diverted.

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Contact photographer Shaun Edelstein
What: Delta Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 en route from Atlanta, GA to Chicago Midway
Where: diverted to Cincinnati,KY and concluded in Chicago
When: May 26th 2009
Who: Not Listed.
Why: “DELTA AIRLINES FLIGHT 2090 MCDONNELL DOUGLAS 90-30 AIRCRAFT AFTER LANDING, INSPECTION REVEALED A PIECE OF THE AIRCRAFT FELL ONTO THE RUNWA.
George’s Point of View
As you see, the FAA report indicates that the plane lost a piece of itself on landing. I don’t know what’s more curious–what exactly fell off the MD-90 when it landed (generally I don’t think of external plane parts as optional); or if the dropped item was related to the plane’s delay in Cincinnati.
What: Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800 en route from Singapore to London Heathrow
Where: Heathrow Airport
When: May 25th 2009
Why: One of the plane’s four engines shut down causing an hour’s delay. The plane was taken out of service, and the return flight was delayed until the Airbus was back in service.
George’s Point of View
Airbus is just starting out with this monster and already having engine issues. Engine shut down is serious stuff, even though the monster can fly on less than 4 engines, it’s serious.
What: British Air on behalf of Air France Canadair CRJ-100 en route from from Barcelona to Paris
Where: 15 passengers
When: May 26th 2009
Who: 15 passengers
Why: Near Limoges, the right cockpit window shattered, causing the plane to experience sudden decompression. the plane landed safely at Limoges. Cockpit crew had some injuries from flying glass.
What: Fedex Boeing 757-200 en route from Reno to Memphis
Where: Reno-Tahoe International Airport
When: May 26th 2009 7:45 p.m.
Who: Fed Ex crew
Why: The plane’s emergency light indicated overheating after leaving Reno, and the crew requested to return, before entering a holding pattern over Carson City and Minden to burn off fuel. The plane landed safely in Reno; the packages were not delayed.
=

Contact photographer SkyMember
Pictured: flight 8095

Contact photographer Jerome Mervelet
Pictured: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A330-200 registration PT-MVN
What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A330-200 en route from Miami,FL (USA) to Sao Paulo
Where: Sao Paulo
When: May 25 2009
Who: 154 passengers
Why: On approach to Sao Paulo, the flight experienced turbulence. Fasten seat belt signs were illuminated about 20 minutes before landing–Some passengers struck the ceiling.
Thirteen were treated at the airport; eight were taken to the hospital. No mention is made of any injuries to crew members
What: A Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. Boeing 737-700 en route from Sydney Nova Scotia to Coolangatta Australia
Where: Brisbane Airport Queensland
When: 2:30 p.m. local time May 26
Who: 109 passengers
Why: After departing, Airport crew at Sydney found parts of the Boeing’s nose wheel tire. The plane made a safe emergency landing in Brisbane. Passengers debarked; and the tire was replaced.
What: United Flight 615 en route from Washington DC to Chicago O’Hare
Where: Pittsburgh
When: landed at 12:51 May 22, 2009
Who: 119 on board including Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers
Why: After a hydraulic system failure was announced, the crew announced there would be an emergency landing. There had been “loud bang” at take-off, then the noise and vibration increased.
The landing was safe; and United was providing another plane for passengers to complete the flight to Chicago.
What: Flight AA956, American Airlines Boeing 767 en route from Ezeiza International of Buenos Aires to New York
Where: Buenos Aires
When: May 20 took off at 8:39 p.m and landed at 1:17
Who: 200 passengers
Why: The flight returned to Buenos Aires for an emergency landing due to a technical failure of the “defrosters.” The 767 anti-ice system is essential as the plane flies at 10,000 feet. No injuries were reported. The flight had to fly over De la Plata River to “*finish the fuel.”
There’s no indication if *finish in this context means dump (they did fly over a river) or use up. The term came verbatim from a Xinhua report–so we have a report that has gone from Spanish to Chinese to English and we do apologize if we lose details.
The flight has been rescheduled for Thursday.

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Contact Photographer Normando Carvalho Jr
What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A330-200 en route from Miami, FL to Sao Paulo Brazil
Where: en route to Sao Paulo
When: May 21st 2009
Who: not listed
Why: While in flight, the flight crew observed a drop of the outside temperature and recorded seeing St. Elmo’s Fire. They lost the air data reference system. Autopilot and autothrust system disconnected, and fly by wire switched to alternate law (and remained in alternate law for the remainder of the flight.)
Rudder travel limiter was deactived and airspeed and altitude indication was lost.
Standby instrumentation allowed data restoration in under ten minutes.
George’s Point of View
What: Allegiant Air MD-83 en route from Los Angeles to Grand Junction
Where: McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas
When: 2:22 p.m May 18, 2009
Who: 130 passengers and 5 crew members
Why: After reporting smoke in the cockpit, the crew diverted to the Las Vegas airport. There were no injuries. The replacement flight is not expected to arrive in Grand Junction until after 6 pm.
What: Air Canada Embraer ERJ-190 en route from Calgary to Los Angeles,CA
Where: Los Angeles
When: May 18th 2009
Who: 58 passengers and 5 crew, 4 minor injuries
Why: The flight experienced a few minutes of moderate in-flight turbulence but landed as scheduled. Several passengers were treated at the airport.
What: Turkish Airlines Airbus A320-200 en route from Konya to Istanbul
Where: Konya
When: May 16th 2009
Who: 140 passengers
Why: After a bird strike, the flight returned to Konya. Two passengers were taken to the hospital.

What: Lufthansa en route from Duesseldorf to Budapest
Where: Prague’s Ruzyne airport
When: May 15 at 1400 hrs.
Who: 35 update: 30 passengers; 5 crew
Why: When smoke was detected in the luggage compartment, the flight was diverted to Prague where they made a safe landing. No injuries were reported.
If we are apprised of more details, we will update.
All 30 passengers were able to continue to Budapest at 1700 hrs on another flight.