A330
An Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers over the Atlantic Ocean, according to reports from an Air France official. The Brazil rescue services immediately began a search mission off its northeastern coast.
The flight Air France 447, was on an Airbus A330, carrying 216 passengers and 12 crew members, that left Rio on Sunday at 7 p.m. local time.
Contact with the plane was lost about 190 miles northeast of the coastal Brazilian city of Natal, near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, reported the Brazilian air force spokesman said.
An official with France's transport agency said contact with the plane was lost at 0220 GMT Monday. The official was not allowed to give any further information.
The airline set up an information center at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for the families of those aboard.
The flight was scheduled to arrive in Paris at 0915 GMT (5:15 a.m. EDT), according to the airport.
France's minister in charge of transport, Jean-Louis Borloo, told the press there was a real pessimism at this hour about the fate of the aircraft, adding they feared for the worst.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed extreme worry and sent his ministers o Charles de Gaulle airport to monitor the situation.