US military joining search for French plane; sending surveillance aircraft out Tuesday night
By Pauline Jelinek, Gaea News NetworkTuesday, June 2, 2009
US military joining search for French plane
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is joining the search for survivors and debris from the Air France flight that disappeared after taking off from Brazil.
The U.S. Southern Command says a Navy P-3C Orion surveillance plane will take off late Tuesday night from Brazil. Brazilian military pilots earlier in the day spotted an airplane seat, an orange buoy, and other debris and signs of fuel at a site in the Atlantic Ocean.
Southern Command spokesman Jose Ruiz says the U.S. Navy plane was sent to Brazil with 21 people — enough for more than one crew so that the plane can go out on more than one mission a day.
The plane arrived in Brazil Tuesday morning after flying from the Central American nation of El Salvador, where it is used to detect drug trafficking activities.
Tags: Air france, Brazil, Europe, European Union, France, Latin America And Caribbean, North America, South America, United States, Us-us-brazilian-plane, Washington, Western Europe
