Here is the story from Reuters (A very reliable source)

" June 1 (Reuters) - An Air France (AIRF.PA) passenger plane
on its way from Brazil to Paris has gone missing with 228 people
on board nL1711085.

The aircraft is a four-year-old Airbus A330-200 wide-body
jet, registered as F-GZCP, the airline said.

Air France is owned by Franco-Dutch airline group Air
France-KLM (AIRF.PA).

Here are the main characteristics of the plane.

AIRCRAFT DETAILS
Capacity (typical 3-class) 253 passsengers

Range (nautical miles) 6,750

(kilometres) 12,500
Missing plane entered service 2005

Aircraft type first entered service 1998

Engines Two CF6

Manufacturer General Electric
(GE.N)

Aircraft cost (list prices, 2008) $181 million

SAFETY RECORD

If the missing passengers and crew are confirmed dead, it
would be the worst accident involving an Airbus A330, according
to the Flight Safety Foundation (www.aviation-safety.net).

It would also be the first fatal accident involving the
A330-200, the smaller of two variants of the wide-body jet.

Seven people were killed when an A330-300 crashed during a
testing flight at the planemaker's Toulouse headquarters in
France in June, 1994.

Two A330-300s were destroyed on the tarmac in an attack on
Sri Lanka's international airport by Tamil Tiger rebels that
left 18 people dead in July 2001.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Angus MacSwan)"

Another variation of the story can be found at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090601/ts_nm/us_france_plane
Source(s):
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSL14691620090601
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090601/ts_nm/us_france_plane


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