The AirSafe.com News: Wreckage found from 2009 Air France A330 Crash

05 April 2011

Wreckage found from 2009 Air France A330 Crash

Air France flight 447, an A330-200 (F-GZCP) on a scheduled international flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France, departed Rio late on 31 May 2009, and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in the early hours of 1 June 2009. While some wreckage and the bodies of about 50 of the 228 passengers and crew were found floating on the surface of the ocean in the weeks after the crash, most of the aircraft and aircraft occupants remained lost.

On April 4th, the French Bureau d'Enquetes et Analyses (BEA), which is leading the accident investigation, announced that significant portions of the aircraft, including an engine, a landing gear assembly, and a large part of the fuselage, were found on the ocean floor about 4,000 meters (about 13,000 feet) below the surface. Some passenger remains were also spotted (BEA presentation).

This fourth search was concentrated in an area of about 10,000 sq km (about 3,900 sq mi) about 75 km (46.6 mi) from the last known position of the aircraft. So far, the black boxes (cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder) have not been located, but the French government plans to continue searching for additional wreckage and to begin an effort to raise some of it to the surface.

Photos of wreckage on the sea floor