Update: Possible debris from lost Air France flight found at sea

The Brazilian air force today located debris in the Atlantic Ocean that are believed to be from Air France Flight 447, which disappeared early Monday morning with 228 people on board, according to reports by Marcelo Soares and Chris Kraul of the Los Angeles Times.



A military spokesman said one of the many aircraft involved in a search and rescue mission spotted a seat, an orange-coloured float, a tank and an oil slick about 400 miles Northeast of Fernando de Noronha island off Brazil\'s coast. The spotters reported seeing no signs of life; the commercial jetliner was en route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro.



\"The locations where the objects were found are towards the right of the point where the last signal of the plane was emitted,\" said air force spokesman Jorge Amaral. This he said \"suggests that it (the plane) might have tried to make a turn. The aircraft was battling its way through heavy thunderstorms when it sent out automated pings signalling that something was wrong. The pilots however did not send a distress call suggesting that something quick and catastrophic may have occurred to bring down the plane.



Air France has released a partial list of passengers and crew from 50 countries who were aboard the flight; included are two Americans: Micheal Harris, a 60 year-old geologist and his wife. A full list will be publicised later today.