PARIS, June 1 – Here is what is known so far about Air France Flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris which went missing on Monday over the Atlantic carrying 228 people.
The A-330-200 jet
Airbus says the jet was registered under the number F-GZCP and was delivered to Air France in April 2005. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 18,800 flight hours in some 2,500 flights. It was powered by CF6-80E1 engines.
The flight
Sunday
2229 GMT Sunday (7:29pm local): Air France says Flight AF 447 takes off from Rio de Janeiro’s Tom Jobim International Airport with 216 passengers and 12 crew.
Monday
0133 GMT: Final contact between the jet and Brazilian air traffic control, according to the Brazilian air force. AF 447 is 565 kilometers (360 miles) off Brazil’s northeast coast.
As it left Brazilian radar range, the plane was flying normally at an altitude of 10,670 meters (35,000 feet) and a speed of 840 kilometers (520 miles) per hour, the air force said.
0200 GMT: AF 447’s captain reports entering heavy turbulence caused by Atlantic storms.
0214 GMT: The jet sends out automatic messages giving an alert for an electrical short circuit, according to Air France. Brazilian and African air traffic control authorities are alerted.
0220 GMT: The jet fails to make a required radio call saying it is crossing into Senegalese airspace. Brazilian air traffic control contacts Senegalese civil aviation authorities on the African side of the Atlantic.
0530 GMT: Following an alarm raised by French civil aviation, Brazil’s air force launches a search-and-rescue mission, sending out a coast guard patrol plane and a specialised air force rescue aircraft.
0730 GMT: A ‘crisis cell’ is set up at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport.
0910 GMT: The jet is due at Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
0934 GMT: A French civil aviation official tells AFP that the jet has "disappeared from radar screens".
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