AIR CRASH INVESTIGATIONS: LOST OVER THE ATLANTIC, The Mysterious Disappearance of Air France Flight 447

On 31 May 2009, flight AF447, an Airbus A330-200, took off from Rio de Janeiro bound for Paris. At 2 h 10, a position message and some maintenance messages were transmitted by the ACARS automatic system. After this nothing was heard of from the aircraft. Six days later bodies and airplane parts were found by the French and Brazilian navies. All 228 passengers and crew members on board are presumed to have perished in the accident. A massive search by air and sea craft for the plane's black boxes failed so far.