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Air France Rio crash: Jet plunged in minutes | Air France Rio crash: Jet plunged in minutes |
(40 minutes later) | |
The Air France jet which crashed into the Atlantic en route from Rio in 2009 stalled and fell in three and a half minutes, French investigators report. | The Air France jet which crashed into the Atlantic en route from Rio in 2009 stalled and fell in three and a half minutes, French investigators report. |
The air accident investigations bureau (BEA) found the crew had struggled with contradictory speed readings just before the plane crashed. | |
A principal theory for the cause of the crash is that the jet's speed probes iced up, resulting in faulty data. | |
All 228 people on board were killed in the disaster. | All 228 people on board were killed in the disaster. |
The BEA findings were released in an online statement in response to speculation in the media over the findings from the flight recorders, only recovered from the sea this month. | |
A full report into the disaster is not expected until next year. | |
Airbus, the maker of the A330 jet involved, said the French statement was a "significant step" in understanding the causes of the crash. | |
'Inconsistent speeds' | |
Ahead of Friday's statement, the BEA said it wished to correct "partial and more or less contradictory information published in the media". | |
It was giving "factual elements on the operation of the flight that... establish the circumstances of the accident but not the causes". | |
According to the statement, the twin-engine jet's autopilot and auto-thrust disengaged after it ran into turbulence, and the plane slowed dangerously, climbing to 38,000 ft (9,100m). | |
Speeds displayed on the left primary flight display were inconsistent with those on the integrated standby instrument system. | |
French investigators have been working on the theory that the speed sensors, known as Pitot probes, malfunctioned because of ice at high altitude. | |
This may have set off an unpredictable chain of events. | |
Final minutes | |
The drama began while the captain was taking a routine rest, with the two co-pilots in the cockpit, the BEA said. | |
Summoned to help, however, he was back in the cockpit two minutes and 48 seconds before the crash, it found. | |
The BEA statement found the composition of the crew had been "in accordance with the operator's procedures". | |
Flight AF 447 went down on 1 June 2009 after running into an intense high-altitude thunderstorm, four hours into a flight from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Paris. | Flight AF 447 went down on 1 June 2009 after running into an intense high-altitude thunderstorm, four hours into a flight from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Paris. |
Those on board came from more than 30 countries, though most were French, Brazilian or German. | Those on board came from more than 30 countries, though most were French, Brazilian or German. |
The wreckage of the plane was discovered after a long search of 10,000 sq km (3,860 sq miles) of sea floor. | The wreckage of the plane was discovered after a long search of 10,000 sq km (3,860 sq miles) of sea floor. |