The Air France jet which went missing over the Atlantic sent 24 error messages minutes before it crashed, French investigators say.Investigators also said the plane's autopilot was not on, though they do not know if it had been switched off or was not working. Weather experts said there was no evidence storms the plane encountered were "exceptional" for the season. The Airbus A330 vanished en-route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on Monday. Officials do not know what triggered the plane's problems, but it was flying through an area of thunder storms and turbulence.
The Air France jet which went missing over the Atlantic sent 24 error messages minutes before it crashed, French investigators say.
Investigators also said the plane's autopilot was not on, though they do not know if it had been switched off or was not working.
Weather experts said there was no evidence storms the plane encountered were "exceptional" for the season.
The Airbus A330 vanished en-route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on Monday.
Officials do not know what triggered the plane's problems, but it was flying through an area of thunder storms and turbulence.
The Air France jet that crashed last week into the Atlantic carrying 228 passengers and crew, transmitted 24 error messages, including that the autopilot had been disengaged minutes before it disappeared.In the Airbus A330's last minutes, automated radio transmissions logged a catalogue of failures, beginning with the disengagement of the autopilot and ending with a drastic drop in the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the plane, consistent with either the breakup of the aircraft or a rapid descent.As investigators continued to search for wreckage from the worst aviation disaster in a decade, the focus of the inquiry appeared to be upon the reliability of an air-speed sensor called the Pitot tubes. Air France had ordered that they be upgraded more than a year ago but the work had apparently not been carried out on the stricken plane.
The Air France jet that crashed last week into the Atlantic carrying 228 passengers and crew, transmitted 24 error messages, including that the autopilot had been disengaged minutes before it disappeared.
In the Airbus A330's last minutes, automated radio transmissions logged a catalogue of failures, beginning with the disengagement of the autopilot and ending with a drastic drop in the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the plane, consistent with either the breakup of the aircraft or a rapid descent.
As investigators continued to search for wreckage from the worst aviation disaster in a decade, the focus of the inquiry appeared to be upon the reliability of an air-speed sensor called the Pitot tubes. Air France had ordered that they be upgraded more than a year ago but the work had apparently not been carried out on the stricken plane.
Search crews have found two bodies believed to be from the missing Air France flight which disappeared over the Atlantic with five Britons on board, Brazil's air force have said. All 228 people on board, including 12 crew, a baby and seven children, are thought to have perished in the world's worst aviation disaster since 2001.The discovery comes on the day French investigators said the communications system on flight AF 447, which was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris last Sunday, transmitted 24 error messages ahead of the flight's disappearance and its autopilot was not working.Colonel Jorge Amaral, a spokesman for the Brazilian air force, said two male bodies were recovered from an area where the jet is believed to have crashed.They were picked up roughly 400 miles northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast, he said. He added that a suitcase containing a plane ticket for the flight was also found.
Search crews have found two bodies believed to be from the missing Air France flight which disappeared over the Atlantic with five Britons on board, Brazil's air force have said.
All 228 people on board, including 12 crew, a baby and seven children, are thought to have perished in the world's worst aviation disaster since 2001.
The discovery comes on the day French investigators said the communications system on flight AF 447, which was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris last Sunday, transmitted 24 error messages ahead of the flight's disappearance and its autopilot was not working.
Colonel Jorge Amaral, a spokesman for the Brazilian air force, said two male bodies were recovered from an area where the jet is believed to have crashed.
They were picked up roughly 400 miles northeast of the Fernando de Noronha islands off Brazil's northern coast, he said. He added that a suitcase containing a plane ticket for the flight was also found.
