Woman, who missed ill-fated Air France Flight, dies in car accident days later

August 22nd, 2009 Californian pilot dies at British air showLONDON — A leading U.S. stunt pilot was killed Saturday when her light aircraft crashed at an aerobatic show in central England.

July 18th, 2009 Woman hit by motorcycle at Tour de France, diesBESANCON, France — A woman crossing the road during the Tour de France was killed Saturday when she was hit by a police motorcycle escorting riders. Two other fans were injured after the motorcycle skidded into them.

July 18th, 2009 Woman dies after being hit by police motorcycleBESANCON, France — A woman crossing the road during the Tour de France was killed Saturday when she was hit by a police motorcycle escorting riders. Two other fans were injured after the motorcycle skidded into them.

July 17th, 2009 2nd death after collapse of stage for Madonna showMARSEILLE, France — The Marseille hospital authority says a second person has died after the roof of a stage being built for a Madonna concert collapsed. The hospital authority says the British worker died Friday from injuries suffered in the accident.

July 2nd, 2009 French: Air France Flight 447 fell intact into seaLE BOURGET, France — A French investigator says Air France Flight 447 did not break up in flight but plunged vertically into the Atlantic Ocean. Alain Bouillard, leading the investigation into the June 1 crash for the French accident investigation agency BEA, also says life vests found among the wreckage of the plane were not inflated.

July 2nd, 2009 PARIS - The Air France Airbus A330-200 that crashed into the Atlantic one month ago was not destroyed in flight, an official with the French Office of Accident Investigation (BEA) said Thursday at Le Bourget airport near Paris. Alain Bouillard, who is in charge of the investigation, said an analysis of the fragments of the plane that have been recovered suggests that "the plane seems to have hit the surface of the water in the line of flight with a strong vertical acceleration".

June 30th, 2009 Flight 447 black box search goes on past deadlinePARIS — French investigators say the search for the black boxes of Flight 447 is continuing although they are no longer certain to emit signals. The flight's voice and data recorders are guaranteed to emit signals for 30 days after an accident.

June 25th, 2009 PARIS - Authorities have identified the body of the chief pilot of the Air France aircraft that plunged into the Atlantic June 1 with 228 people aboard, the airline said on its web site Thursday. "Among the victims found in the sea search, two members of the Air France crew have been identified: the flight captain and a steward," Air France said.

June 12th, 2009 PARIS - Family members of the 216 passengers on board the ill-fated Air France Flight 447 could claim hundreds of millions of dollars in damages in the near future for their tragic losses. Le Monde newspaper Friday reported that a consortium of insurance companies, including Allianz, Axa, Swiss Re and others, could offer at least $330 million in the near future.

June 11th, 2009 Air France CEO 'not convinced' sensors cause crashPARIS — Air France's CEO said Thursday that he is "not convinced" faulty speed monitors caused the crash of Flight 447, which went down on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people aboard. Replacement external speed monitors — or Pitot tubes — for jet models of the same type as the crashed plane arrived three days before the fatal accident, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told journalists.

June 7th, 2009 Obama pledges support on Air France probeCAEN, France — President Barack Obama says the United States has authorized all of the government's resources to investigate an Air France plane that disappeared off the coast of South America. Obama told French President Nicholas Sarkozy on Saturday that Americans offer their thoughts and their prayers to the French, particularly those who lost family members in the suspected crash.

June 4th, 2009 French say Air France plane speed not knownPARIS — The French agency investigating the crash of the Air France jet over the Atlantic says automatic messages received from the plane have failed to show exactly how fast the aircraft was flying. The Accident Investigation Agency says only two findings have been established.

June 4th, 2009 PARIS - An Air France pilot has declared it "highly likely" that flight AF447 may have been blown up by a terrorist bomb. The long-haul captain, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed the theory the doomed jet suffered catastrophic electrical failure.

June 3rd, 2009 French uncertain whether chief pilot at controlsPARIS — A French accident investigator says it is unclear whether the chief pilot of Air France Flight 447 was at the controls when the plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The head of France's accident investigation agency, Paul-Louis Arslanian, also says he is "not optimistic" that rescuers will recover the plane's black boxes miles (kilometers) under the water.

June 3rd, 2009 Organization of the Air France crash probeThe French accident investigation agency, known by its French acronym BEA, is in charge of the inquiry into what happened to Air France Flight 447, which crashed with 228 aboard en route from Rio to Paris. The man in charge of the investigation, Alain Bouillard, led the probe into the 2000 crash of the Concorde supersonic jet.