Air crew 'did not know' doomed flight was stalling

The crew piloting a doomed Air France jet over the Atlantic did not appear to know that the plane was in a stall, despite repeated warning signals, according to findings in a new report.

They never informed the passengers that anything was wrong before the jet plunged into the sea, killing all 228 on board.

Based on cockpit recordings from the crash, the French air accident investigation agency (BEA) is recommending mandatory training for all pilots to help them fly manually and handle a high-altitude stall.

The Airbus 330, en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, crashed amid storms over the Atlantic on 1 June, 2009. It was the worst accident in Air France's history. The victims included five Britons and three Irish citizens.

The passengers were never told what was happening as Flight 447 went into an aerodynamic stall and then dived for three and a half minutes into the sea, according to a summary of the BEA's latest findings released yesterday.

The pilots themselves may not have been aware they were in the stall, the summary says.

In a statement, Air France said there was no reason to question the crew's technical skills. The airline said the report showed that a series of unlikely failures led up to the stall and crash, and said its pilots demonstrated a professional attitude and remained "committed to their task to the very end".

The airline also suggested the aircraft's systems and alarms may have "hindered the crew's understanding of the situation" during the stall.