Air France Plane Down in Atlantic

We've gotten so used to air travel being a very safe way to go that this kind of thing is pretty shocking:

An Air France plane with 228 people on board disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on its way from Brazil to Paris on Monday after hitting strong turbulence and French officials said they feared a disaster.

The Brazilian force said the Airbus jet was well advanced over the sea when it went missing and military planes took off from both South America and Africa to hunt for the plane.

"We are probably facing an air catastrophe," Air France Chief Executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told reporters.

Air France said the airliner sent an automatic message reporting an electrical fault at 0214 GMT, roughly 15 minutes after the plane flew through a stormy area with strong turbulence.

Flight AF 447 left Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 7 p.m. (2200 GMT) and had been expected to land at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on Monday at 11:15 a.m. (0915 GMT).

The carrier said 216 passengers were on board, including seven children and one baby, and 12 crew members. Air France said the pilots were highly experienced.
Senior French government minister Jean-Louis Borloo ruled out the possibility of a hijacking.

"It's an awful tragedy," Borloo told France Info radio.

This may be one of the most difficult recoveries ever, depending on the depth of the water whre the plane went down.