Plane crash: Debris belongs to Air France jet
- 00:01:32
- ITN
Plane crash: Debris belongs to Air France jet
Families and friends of victims of the Air France disaster are coming to terms with their loss after wreckage was found. Brazilian navy divers are rushing to reach the Airbus A330 aircraft and start the grim job of pulling debris from the Atlantic Ocean, where the plane with 228 people went down in the the airline's worst disaster in its 75-year history. Four navy ships with recovery equipment and a tanker are heading to a strip of water strewn with airplane seats, an orange buoy, wiring, hunks of metal and jet fuel stains about 745 miles northeast of the Brazilian city of Recife. Distraught relatives who had prayed for a miracle gave up hope as experts were certain that all aboard died on the flight, which left Rio de Janeiro on Sunday night bound for Paris. The British vitims included a young boy on his way back to school, two oil company workers heading home to their families, an orthodontist and a PR director. Patricia Coakley's "fabulous husband" Arthur, 61, a structural engineer who was working on a survey in Brazil, was among the five Britons. "He's not going to come back. (Monday) I was really optimistic, (yesterday) maybe more realistic. I would love him to come back," said Mrs Coakley, from near Whitby, North Yorkshire, as she broke down in tears. Joyce Gardner, whose oil worker husband Graham, 52, from Gourock, Renfrewshire, was also on board, described him as "loving, caring and laid-back". "Graham was on a month-on, month-off contract so the time we had together was precious," said Mrs Gardner, 51. Alexander Bjoroy, 11, who attended Clifton College preparatory school in Bristol, was also one of the 216 passengers and 12 crew aboard flight AF447 which left Rio de Janeiro on Sunday evening. Alexander, who held a British passport, was returning from his half-term break with his family in Brazil, said John Milne, headmaster of Clifton College where he had been a pupil since January. Mr Milne described him as "a well-liked and respected boarder who will be sorely missed by his fellow pupils and staff". Orthodontist Dr Jose Souza was also on the flight. His colleagues at the Reading Orthodontic Centre said they are "devastated". Londoner Neil Warrior - a PR director for Mazda Europe, aged in his 40s - was also on the plane, colleagues said. Three Irish women - all doctors who had graduated from Trinity College Dublin - were also on the flight with a Welsh female friend. Former Riverdance performer Eithne Walls, 28, from Ballygowan, Co Down, was travelling with her friends Aisling Butler, 26, of Roscrea, Co Tipperary, and Jane Deasy of Dublin, who was also in her 20s. Aisling Butler's father John said: "She was a truly wonderful, exciting girl. I just can't describe how we feel." After more than 24 hours of searching, Brazilian air force planes found aircraft seats and other debris floating in the Atlantic about 350 miles off the coast of Brazil. They also found signs of oil and kerosene along the route the plane had been taking, flown by a 58-year-old captain who had been with Air France for more than 20 years. Automatic messages from the plane showed it had passed through a thunderstorm and that there was an electrical problem. Aviation experts said it was far from certain that the aircraft had been struck by lightning and that it was vital the plane's "black box" flight recorder was found so the cause of the disaster could be pinpointed.
ITN | June 3, 2009
