Apparent Electric Failure On Missing Jet -Air France







An Air France Airbus A330 jetliner flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people onboard was missing over the Atlantic Monday after suffering an electrical short circuit when flying through strong storms, Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said.

Mr. Gourgeon told a televised press conference in Paris that contact was lost with the two-engine jetliner around 0130 GMT time, less than three hours after the plane took off from Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil's airforce said it also lost contact with the plane Sunday night, after it did not make a scheduled radio call.

'It was all normal, and the pilot said he was preparing to leave Brazilian airspace,' said a Brazilian air force spokesman.

Mr. Gourgeon said that the plane flew through an area of thunder and strong turbulence around 0200 GMT. At 0214 GMT, Air France headquarters in Paris received automated maintenance messages signaling failure of several electrical components, Mr. Gourgeon said.

The plane had 'a very experienced crew,' Mr. Gourgeon said. 'Clearly, there's been a failure in the aircraft,' he said.

The flight, over 200 miles off the coast at that time, was already beyond the reach of the nearest Brazilian radar in Recife. Flights across the Atlantic are monitored using radio contact.

The pilots were scheduled to enter contact for the last time with Brazilian controllers at 0220 GMT. But they never did so.

The plane is currently considered lost, said the airforce spokesman. 'We presume the search area is inside Brazilian airspace,' he said.

The airforce said it had mobilized two airplanes for the search and alerted the Brazilian Navy, which is expected to send ships to the area.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his 'extreme worry' for the flight. According to Air France, the flight had 216 passengers and 12 crew.

Most of the passengers were Brazilian and French, authorities said. Other countries with big contingencies include Germany, with 26 passengers. China -- which in March surpassed the U.S. as Brazil's biggest trade partner -- had nine of its citizens on the jet.

The missing plane was built in 2005. The Airbus A330, which first flew in 1992, has a strong safety record. If the Air France flight is lost, it would be the first crash of an A330 in commercial service, according to the Aviation Safety Net.

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国航空公司(Air France)首席执行长古容(Pierre-Henri Gourgeon)说，一架从里约热内卢飞往巴黎载有228人的的空客A330客机周一在大西洋失踪。这架飞机在飞越强风暴时出现了电路短路。

古容在巴黎召开电视新闻发布会表示，这架双引擎喷气式客机从里约热内卢起飞不到三个小时后，在格林威治时间0130左右失去了联系。



Reuters

失踪航班乘客的亲友周一抵达戴高乐机场危机处理中心



巴西空军方面表示，这架飞机没有进行例行无线电通话之后，他们周日晚间也失去了和飞机的联系。

巴西空军一位发言人表示，当时一切正常，飞行员说他准备离开巴西领空。

古容说，飞机在格林威治时间0200左右飞越一片雷电和强气流区域。他说，在格林威治时间0214，法航巴黎总部接到了显示有几个电子部件出现故障的自动维护信息。

他说，这架飞机拥有经验非常丰富的机组人员。显然是飞机出现了问题。

当时飞机离开巴西海岸200英里，已经处于最近的巴西累西腓雷达站的范围之外。飞越大西洋的航班是通过无线电联络监控的。

飞行员本应在格林威治时间0220和巴西空中控制部门进行最后一次通话。但他们没能这么作。



Associated Press

法航首席执行长古容说，驾驶失踪客机的飞行员拥有11,000小时的飞行经历



巴西空军发言人说，飞机目前被定为失踪。我们假定搜索区域位于巴西领空内。

巴西空军表示，已派出了两架飞机进行搜索，并告知了巴西海军。预计巴西海军会派出船只进入该地区。

法国总统尼古拉•萨科齐(Nicolas Sarkozy)对这架飞机表示极度担忧。据法航方面表示，飞机上载有216名乘客和12名机组人员。

有关部门表示，大多数乘客是巴西人和法国人。其他国家方面，客机上还有26名德国乘客以及9名中国公民。今年3月，中国超越美国成为了巴西最大的贸易伙伴。

这架失踪客机建造于2005年。空客A330客机于1992年进行首飞，拥有出色的安全纪录。据航空安全网(Aviation Safety Net)，如果这架法航客机失踪的话，将是空客A330客机投入商业运营的首次坠机事件。

I've got the news last night, the debris from the plane were found.