Search resumes for black boxes of crashed Air France jet

THE search for the wreckage and black boxes of an Air France aircraft which crashed into the Atlantic last year killing all 228 people on board will resume next week.

Flight AF447, an Airbus A330, crashed into the sea between Rio de Janeiro and Paris on 1 June last year. An initial search found some pieces of wreckage and bodies, but the recorders, which could provide clues to what happened, have not been found.

France's air accident investigation agency, the BEA, which is in charge of the investigation, is expected to announce tomorrow that rescuers would leave Recife in Brazil for the search zone off the coast on 25 March.

A source involved in the investigation said the crew of an American ship had visa problems, which delayed its departure from the United States to Brazil, and difficult weather conditions then slowed its progress.

Once in the search area, two ships conducting the search will have a month to find the wreckage, which is probably at a depth of 4,000 metres (13,000 ft), locate the black boxes and then bring them to the surface.

Air France's insurer, Axa, said last week it would appeal a Brazilian court ruling ordering the airline to pay $1.16 million in compensation to the family of a victim as the decision had been made outside a committee set up to decide on compensation.