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First Debris Retrieved From Flight 447
Air France tells families no one survived the crash
By Ambreen Ali
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Posted Jun 4, 09 4:00 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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As Brazilian crews begin retrieving the first pieces of Air France flight 447, the airline has told families that nobody survived, the AP reports. A helicopter pulled a cargo pallet and two buoys from the Atlantic, 340 miles northeast of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha islands. As theories about the crash arrive fast and furious, searchers have not seen any sign of remains from the 228 people aboard.
This morning, reports surfaced that the plane may have been flying too slowly, but now the Wall Street Journal says investigators are pursuing the opposite theory. In this version, the plane's speed sensors iced up as it flew through a storm, falsely signaling a sharp drop in velocity. The pilots then increased thrust in heavy winds, with disastrous results. Airbus is issuing reminders today of how pilots should react when they suspect their airspeed indicators are malfunctioning.