Air France 447
An airspeed inconsistency became a loss of control that the crew never recovered from.
Fact sheet
- Date
- 1 June 2009
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Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447Synopsis | Printed page 17 | PDF page 19 (zero-based index 18)Date of accident Aircraft 1st June 2009 at 2 h 14 min 28(1) Airbus A330-203 (1) All times...
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- Airbus A330-203
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Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447Synopsis | Printed page 17 | PDF page 19 (zero-based index 18)Airbus A330-203 (1) All times in Registered F-GZCP this report are Site of accident UTC, except Owner and...
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- F-GZCP
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Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447Synopsis | Printed page 17 | PDF page 19 (zero-based index 18)Registered F-GZCP this report are Site of accident UTC, except Owner and Operator where otherwise At reference 3°03'57''...
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- Air France
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Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447Synopsis | Printed page 17 | PDF page 19 (zero-based index 18)Air France specified. Two near the TASIL point, in international hours should be waters, Atlantic Ocean Operator added...
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- Rio de Janeiro Galeao to Paris Charles de Gaulle
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Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447Synopsis | Printed page 17 | PDF page 19 (zero-based index 18)bound for Paris Charles de Gaulle. The aeroplane was in contact with the Brazilian ATLANTICO control centre on...
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- Atlantic Ocean, international waters near TASIL
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Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447Synopsis | Printed page 17 | PDF page 19 (zero-based index 18)near the TASIL point, in international hours should be waters, Atlantic Ocean Operator added to obtain the legal...
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- 228: 216 passengers and 12 crew
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Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447Synopsis | Printed page 17 | PDF page 19 (zero-based index 18)Passengers: 216 de Janeiro time. On 31 May 2009, the Airbus A330 flight AF 447 took off from...
Find this passage in evidence searchFinal Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.2 Killed and Injured | Printed page 24 | PDF page 26 (zero-based index 25)Fatal 12 216 - Serious - - - Light/none - - - 1.3 Damage to Aircraft The aeroplane...
Find this passage in evidence search - Casualties
- 228 fatalities; no survivors
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Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.2 Killed and Injured | Printed page 24 | PDF page 26 (zero-based index 25)Fatal 12 216 - Serious - - - Light/none - - - 1.3 Damage to Aircraft The aeroplane...
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What happened
During cruise over the Atlantic, measured airspeeds became inconsistent, likely because ice crystals obstructed the Pitot probes. The autopilot disconnected and the flight controls changed to alternate law. Nose-up inputs led to a climb and then a sustained stall. The crew did not diagnose the stall and did not apply the inputs needed to recover. All 228 people on board died.
What investigators concluded
The BEA described a succession of technical and operational events, not one isolated cause. Its explanatory factors included gaps in operational feedback and training, weakened task-sharing under surprise, unclear presentation of airspeed inconsistencies, and difficulties recognising and responding to the stall warning. The report qualifies Pitot icing as likely.
Evidence behind this explanation +
likely following the obstruction of the Pitot probes by ice crystals, the speed indications were incorrect and some...Find this passage in evidence search
Thus, the accident resulted from the following succession of events: Temporary inconsistency between the airspeed measurements,...Find this passage in evidence search
absence of any training, at high altitude, in manual aeroplane handling and in the procedure for ”Vol avec...Find this passage in evidence search
Sequence of events
UTC. Approximate times are marked. Recorder sampling can differ from narrative rounding. Expand an event to see its evidence.
About 02:08Heading change near weather
The selected heading changed about 12 degrees left; the crew also decided to reduce speed. The narrative describes weather avoidance as probable.
Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.1 History of Flight | Printed page 22 | PDF page 24 (zero-based index 23)At around 2 h 08, the PNF proposed “go to the left a bit […]”. The HDG mode...
Find this passage in evidence searchAF447 Final Report, Appendix 2: Chronologie FDRAppendix 2, recorder chronology | Printed page 2 | PDF page 2 (zero-based index 1)2 h 08 min 12 Le mode latéral passe en HDG. Le cap magnétique sélectionné diminue vers 34°....
Find this passage in evidence search02:10:05Autopilot disconnects
Measured airspeeds fell and automatic systems disconnected. Alternate law followed. The appendix records autopilot disconnection at 02:10:05, law change at 02:10:06 and autothrust disconnection at 02:10:08.
Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.1 History of Flight | Printed page 22 | PDF page 24 (zero-based index 23)At 2 h 10 min 05, the autopilot then the auto-thrust disconnected and the PF said “I have...
Find this passage in evidence searchAF447 Final Report, Appendix 2: Chronologie FDRAppendix 2, recorder chronology | Printed page 2 | PDF page 2 (zero-based index 1)2 h 10 min 05, mais habituellement les deux sélections sont simultanées. 2 h 10 min 05 35...
Find this passage in evidence searchAbout 02:10:36Left-side speed indication returns
The left-side indication became valid again after 29 seconds. The aircraft had climbed and lost about 50 knots since autopilot disconnection.
Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.1 History of Flight | Printed page 22 | PDF page 24 (zero-based index 23)At about 2 h 10 min 36, the speed displayed on the left side became valid again and...
Find this passage in evidence search02:10:51Continuous stall warning begins
The stall warning sounded continuously. The thrust levers went to TO/GA and nose-up inputs continued while angle of attack increased.
Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.1 History of Flight | Printed page 22 | PDF page 24 (zero-based index 23)At 2 h 10 min 51, the stall warning triggered again, in a continuous manner. The thrust levers...
Find this passage in evidence searchAbout 02:11:42Captain returns during the stall
The captain re-entered the cockpit. Shortly afterwards recorded speeds became invalid and the warning stopped. This did not mean the stall had ended.
Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.1 History of Flight | Printed page 23 | PDF page 25 (zero-based index 24)At around 2 h 11 min 42, the Captain re-entered the cockpit. During the following seconds, all of...
Find this passage in evidence searchFinal Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.6.11 Stall warning | Printed page 44 | PDF page 46 (zero-based index 45)60 kt, the angle of attack values of the three ADR are invalid and the stall warning is...
Find this passage in evidence search02:14:28Recordings end at impact
The recordings stopped. The BEA synopsis gives this as the accident time. The last recorded vertical speed was -10,912 feet per minute.
Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 4471.1 History of Flight | Printed page 24 | PDF page 26 (zero-based index 25)The recordings stopped at 2 h 14 min 28. The last recorded values were a vertical speed of...
Find this passage in evidence searchFinal Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447Synopsis | Printed page 17 | PDF page 19 (zero-based index 18)2 h 14 min 28(1) Airbus A330-203 (1) All times in Registered F-GZCP this report are Site of...
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Search the official evidence
Search extracted report prose, with original page references. Short results link to the full document.
Three questions the report answers
When did the automatic systems disconnect?Why could the stall warning stop during a stall?What training gap did the BEA identify?Classifications, with reasons
These labels organise the evidence. They are not a ranking of causes. A shared label means a shared research topic, not an identical mechanism.
CircumstanceWeather exposure
Cruise in the weather environment preceded the airspeed inconsistency. Weather exposure alone is not an accident cause.
weather radar to maximum, after noticing that it was in calibrated mode. The crew decided to reduce the...Find this passage in evidence search
Initiating eventUnreliable airspeed
Temporary inconsistency in airspeed measurements, likely from Pitot ice-crystal obstruction, initiated the documented sequence.
Temporary inconsistency between the airspeed measurements, likely following the obstruction of the Pitot probes by ice crystals that,...Find this passage in evidence search
System behaviourAutomation and sensing
Airspeed rejection disconnected automatic systems and changed the flight control law. This is a system response, not a claim that automation alone caused the accident.
disconnection of the autopilot, y y the triggering of “PITOT PROBE” monitoring in the FCPC causing the transition...Find this passage in evidence search
Crew actionFlight path management
Nose-up control inputs destabilised the flight path; the crew did not diagnose the sustained stall.
Inappropriate control inputs that destabilized the flight path; The lack of any link by the crew...Find this passage in evidence search
Official contributing factorTraining and procedures
The BEA identified absent high-altitude manual handling and unreliable-airspeed training among its explanatory factors.
absence of any training, at high altitude, in manual aeroplane handling and in the procedure for ”Vol avec...Find this passage in evidence search
Sources and transparency
Checked against the BEA final report and recorder chronology by an AI-assisted source comparison. No independent expert review.
The linked recorder appendix is in French. The English final report is a BEA translation; its foreword says the French version is the reference. No cockpit transcript is republished.
Final Report: Accident on 1st June 2009 to the Airbus A330-203 registered F-GZCP operated by Air France flight AF 447
Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses (BEA)
English final report, 5 July 2012
Official BEA PDF
Retrieved 2026-10-03. 223 PDF pages. 27,980,220 bytes. SHA-256:
81837d18d1ea504e6a50ff9886394c6bd7466070362baf8961bcc50d4b410c4bLimited quotations for source-based commentary. Full report and illustrations are not republished. Wider reuse requires checking BEA terms. Source terms / provenance.
AF447 Final Report, Appendix 2: Chronologie FDR
BEA
Final-report appendix, French, 5 July 2012
Official BEA appendix
Retrieved 2026-10-03. 9 PDF pages. 534,786 bytes. SHA-256:
b01e569e0e9bc7d7446487726050f93762d899010906cad5de872fbf1b31da71Linked for recorder chronology verification; not reproduced as a document. Source terms / provenance.
Read the extraction, classification and review methodology.
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