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Flight number 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Charles de Gaule (Paris), disappeared from all radars yesterday and sent an automatic distress signal reporting that it had some electrical problems.

Flight number 447 sent an automatic distress signal yesterday, May 31st 2009 at 10:14PM, reporting an electric fault in the plane and a loss of cabin pressure. The flight contained 228 people on board: 12 crew members adn 216 passagers. There were 126 men, 82 women and seven children. The flight departed from Rio de Janeiro and was Paris bound.

A loss of pressure in flight creates a lack of oxygen and, since in-flight oxygen systems only provide a few minutes’ worth of oxygen, the flight probably had to lose altitude . At the point where the plane lost all contact, it was about halfway between Natal, Brazil, and Cape Verde, Senegal. Brazil later sent aiforce to search the sector but has found nothing.

Even though there is no proof of hijacking or terrorism, the fact that a well-equiped plane, designed to resist turbulence, simply vanished while over sea is suspicious. The fact that only one of the four last transatlantic jet losses wasn’t caused by terrorists and the fact that that one flight managed to communicate through radio transmissions for minutes before crashing give us proof that a flight simply disappearing is very unusual; either something extraordinary happened or there was another terrorist attack.

Let us hope that none of the unfortunate passengers of the flight have died and let us hope that they will all be fine.