Air France Flight Held Up by Bomb Call Last Week

(NEWSER) - The Air France flight that disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean early today after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris is believed to have crashed, Reuters reports. Mechanical malfunctions kept the aircraft's crew from keeping in touch with air-traffic controllers after they reported serious turbulence about 4 hours into the flight. "It is probably a combination of circumstances that could have led to the crash," an airline rep said. More»

(NEWSER) - Three families of victims in the Air France crash have signed on as plaintiffs in a manslaughter probe into the Air France crash, reports the BBC. Under French law, they'll now have access to investigative files. The Paris prosecutor launched the probe last week, which is routine in such cases. The families are suspicious that company officials knew of air-speed sensor problems before the plane took off. "Why weren't the planes kept on the ground?" asked the lawyer for one of the families. More»

Searches also find large amount of aircraft wreckage

(NEWSER) - Searchers have recovered 15 more bodies from the Air France 447 crash site in the Atlantic, bringing the total to 17. Brazil's military also collected large amounts of the plane's "structural components," officials tell Reuters. "Hundreds of items are being found and being stored until we know where they should go," said a spokesman. Investigators speculate that the pilots may have set the plane at a dangerously slow speed due to faulty speed sensors. More»

Weather alone can't explain crash: aviation analyst

(NEWSER) - Searchers spotted more wreckage today from Air France Flight 447, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean earlier this week with 228 people aboard. A team of international aircraft discovered four fields of metallic debris and a 12-mile fuel slick some 220 miles off the Brazilian coast, the Washington Post reports. Lighter plane parts may flow in currents to Africa by next week. More»

(NEWSER) - How will authorities go about finding Air France Flight 447? Essentially, it'll take a lot more planes, Slate explains. Most of the jet’s location gadgets, like its emergency locator transmitters, are unlikely to work underwater. The flight recorders have sonar devices attached that can transmit from 14,000 feet down, but one needs to be relatively nearby to detect them. More»