French Investigators Say Two Bodies Located As Well

Crews searching for the wreckage of Air France Flight 447, which went down in the Atlantic Ocean nearly two years ago, say they have located parts of the missing airplane, but have not yet found the missing cockpit voice and flight data recorders critical to the investigation. The team says it also found the remains of two of the 228 people who were aboard the plane when it impacted water.

Media sources including Bloomberg News say that the newly-discovered wreckage was found in about 12,500 feet of water by a submersible research vessel. The wreckage found included an engine of the Airbus A330, as well as a portion of one of its wings. But the data recorders which investigators say will provide needed evidence in a manslaughter case filed against both Airbus and Air France have not yet been located.

The French accident investigative agency BEA said that the remains of two people were discovered in the wreckage as well.

The exact location of the wreckage has not been disclosed. This third phase of the recovery effort began on March 27th. Air France-KLM CEO Pierre Henri Gourgeion said in a statement that the discovery of the debris "gives hope that information on the causes of the accident ... will be found."

FMI: www.bea.aero/en/index.php