Zeenews Bureau
Sao Paulo(Brazil), June 01: A missing Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris has crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after it ran into lightning and strong thunderstorms, officials said on Monday. Brazil has begun a search mission off its northeastern coast.
The Airline reportedly said in a statement the plane ran into stormy weather four hours after take off as many of its mechanisms malfunctioned, owing to the thunderstorm.
Chief Air France spokesman Francois Brousse said "it is possible" that the plane was hit by lightning.
"It is probably a combination of circumstances that could have led to the crash," he added.
Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time (2200 GMT, 6 p.m. EDT) with 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand.
How tragedy unfolded
About four hours later, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said.
The plane "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence" at 0200 GMT Monday (10 p.m. EDT Sunday). An automatic message was received fourteen minutes later "signaling electrical circuit malfunction."
Tearful relatives and friends were led away by airport staff after they arrived at Roissy expecting to greet the passengers.
About 20 relatives of passengers on board the flight arrived at Rio's Galeao airport on Monday morning seeking information after hearing news of its disappearance.
Bernardo Souza, who said his brother and sister-in-law were on the flight, complained he had received no details from Air France.
"I had to come to the airport but when I arrived I just found an empty balcony." he said. "With a lack of information, it is even more worrying."
Rescue
Brazil's Air Force said the last contact it had with the Air France jet was at 0136 GMT (9:30 p.m. EDT Sunday), but did not say where the plane was at that time.
Brazil's Air Force was searching near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Natal, a spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.
The region is about 1,500 miles northeast of Rio.
The head of investigation and accident prevention for Brazil's Civil Aeronautics Agency, Douglas Ferreira Machado, told Brazil's Globo TV that he believes the plane must have left Brazilian waters and could have been near the coast of Africa by the time contact was lost, based on the speed it was traveling.
"It's going to take a long time to carry out this search," he said. "It could be a long, sad story. The black box will be at the bottom of the sea."
Air France-KLM CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, at a news conference at Charles de Gaulle Airport north of Paris, said the pilot had 11,000 hours of flying experience, including 1,700 hours flying this aircraft. No name was released.
Stuck by lightning?
Aviation experts said the risk the plane was brought down by lightning was slim.
"Lightning issues have been considered since the beginning of aviation. They were far more prevalent when aircraft operated at low altitudes. They are less common now since it's easier to avoid thunderstorms," said Bill Voss, president and CEO of Flight Safety Foundation, Alexandria, Va.
He said planes have specific measures built in to help dissipate electricity along the aircraft's skin.
"I cannot recall in recent history any examples of aircraft being brought down by lightning," he said.
Experts said it was clear the plane was not in the air any longer, due to the amount of fuel it would have been carrying.
"The conclusion to be drawn is that something catastrophic happened on board that has caused this airplane to ditch in a controlled or an uncontrolled fashion," Jane's Aviation analyst Chris Yates said.
"I would suggest that potentially it went down very quickly and so quickly that the pilot on board didn't have a chance to make that emergency call," Yates said, adding that the possibilities ranged from mechanical failure to terrorism.
The flight was supposed to arrive in Paris at 0915 GMT (5:15 a.m. EDT), according to the airport.
Airbus said it was cooperating with transport authorities and Air France, but would not further comment until more details emerged.
"Our thoughts are with the passengers and with the families of the passengers," said Airbus spokeswoman Maggie Bergsma.
First Published: Monday, June 01, 2009, 15:43