Air France plane feared to have gone down in Atlantic

The Airbus 330 is a wide body two engine aircraft used by medium and long range commercial airlines. The Airbus has an exemplary safety record with the only two Hull-loss accidents with a total of 7 fatalities. If the Airbus AF 447, is confirmed to have gone down then it would be the first major commercial accident for the Airbus 330.

Brazil had two major plane crashes in 2006 and 2007, raising concerns about the safety of air travel in Latin America's largest country.

In July 2007, all 187 people on board and 12 people on the ground died when a TAM airline Airbus A 320 overshot a runway at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport.

In September 2006, a Gol airline passenger jet crashed in the Amazon jungle after it and a small private plane collided. All 154 people on board died.