'Bomb blast' downed Air France plane

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Brazilian military search for debris from the Air France jet over the Atlantic Ocean.

A terrorist attack was 'highly likely' to be behind the Air France plane crash in the Atlantic, a pilot claimed.

The unnamed flyer said a bomb explosion on board was the probable cause, he told a French newspaper.

'I have flown these jets for Air France for more than ten years and the chances of an electrical fault seem unfeasible to me,' he added.

 A bomb threat was made against an Air France plane flying from Buenos Aires days earlier, it has emerged.

A warning phone call came in ahead of take-off on Wednesday last week but a search revealed nothing.

An attack could not be ruled out bec­ause it is 'the main threat for all Western democracies' but no one had claimed responsibility, said French defence minister Hervé Morin.

It came as the first photo emerged of 11-year-old British victim Alexander Bjoroy, who was on his way back to school in Bristol after half-term.

His Brazil-based parents, Robin and Jane, said yesterday: 'We are deeply upset about the loss of our son under such tragic circumstances.

Our thoughts are also with the families and friends of all those on board.'

Flight 447 left Rio for Paris on Sunday with 228 people on board, inc­luding five Britons, but disappeared.

A 7m (23ft) piece of wreckage and a 20km (12 mile) oil slick were found yesterday – but no signs of life.

Automatic messages sent by the Airbus A330 warned of the plane's 'cabin vertical speed' as it dropped.

The vital black box recorders may never be found deep beneath the sea as they only emit signals for 30 days.