Air France jet carrying 228 missing over Atlantic Ocean

The plane was due to land at Charles De Gaulle Airport at 11.15am local time (file pic)

An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Atlantic Ocean at 0130 GMT (1.30p.m NZT).

Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, was carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said. Passengers included 3 pilots, one infant, seven children, 82 women and 126 men.

The Airbus sent an automatic message at 0214 GMT, four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro, reporting a short circuit as it flew through strong turbulence.

The plane disappeared about 300 kilometres northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, an air force spokesman said. Brazil's air force said a search began Monday morning near Fernando de Noronha, he added, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with Air Force policy.

It is understood air traffic control lost all contact with the plane a few hours ago when it dropped off the radar.

"The plane might have been struck by lightning - it's a possibility," Francois Brousse, head of communications at Air France, told reporters in Paris.

France's minister responsible for transportation, Jean-Louis Borloo, ruled out hijacking as a cause of the plane's loss.

Brazilian air force spokesman Col Henry Munhoz told Brazilian TV it had not been picked up by radar on the Cape Verde Islands on its way across the Atlantic, and confirmed that Brazilian air force planes had left Fernando de Noronha to search for the missing airliner.

A French military plane also flew out of Senegal to take part in the search.

Mr Borloo said the airliner would already have run out of fuel.

"Nothing on Spanish radar, nothing on Moroccan radar, nothing on French radar - we seriously have to fear the worst," he added.

It is understood Brazil has begun a search mission off its northeastern coast.

Ms Barrand says the airline has installed an information center at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for the families of those aboard.

"Air France regrets to announce that it is without news from Air France flight 447 flying from Rio to Paris," she said.

"Air France shares the emotion and worry of the families concerned."

The flight was scheduled to arrive in Paris at 11.15am New Zealand time.

Airbus declined to comment until more details emerge.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his "extreme worry" and sent the junior minister for transport, Dominique Bussereau, and Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo to Charles de Gaulle airport to monitor the situation.

Mr Sarkozy has demanded that the relevant authorities do everything they can to find the plane and "shed light on the circumstances surrounding its disappearance as rapidly as possible".http://www.3news.co.nz

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