Over Half Of Those Aboard When The Plane Went Down Have Been Recovered

Authorities in France report that an additional 75 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of Air France Flight 447, which went down two years ago on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. 127 of the 228 people on board the flight have now been recovered.

Multiple media sources including The Voice of America and CNN are reporting that many of those most recently recovered were still in the fuselage of the plane. The vice president of the French victims' association Robert Soulas told CNN that there is still controversy over bringing the bodies back to the surface. He has long stated that the remains should be left on the ocean floor.

The Associated Press reports that two of the judges investigating the incident have told the families that those bodies which are too badly damaged will not be recovered "to preserve their dignity."

File Photo

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, though recently-released information from the A330s Flight Data and Cockpit Voice recorders indicate that the aircraft entered a deep stall from which the pilots were unable to recover. The French investigation is focusing on possible icing of pitot tubes and probes as a possible cause of the accident.

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