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French: Air France Flight 447 fell intact into sea

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-02 23:21

LE 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, who is 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.

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All 228 people aboard the plane were killed when it plunged into the ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.

Bouillard said at a news conference outside Paris on Thursday that the search for the plane's black boxes has been extended by 10 days and will continue through July 10.