Assuming that the Air France flight is lost at sea, here is what some media are saying about the accident, with translations provided by Google:
Paris Match: Lightning likely cause of the loss of Air France
"...A spokesman for Air France evokes the possibility of lightning: the plane has indeed gone through a thunderstorm with strong turbulence." (Un porte-parole d'Air France évoque l'hypothèse de la foudre : l'avion a en effet traversé une zone orageuse avec de fortes turbulence.)
Le Monde:
"It is not known at this time the causes of this disappearance. The possibility of a detour is 'clearly ruled out,' said Minister for Transport, Jean-Louis Borloo. According to François Brousse, communications director of Air France, the device has probably 'been struck.' But some experts doubt that lightning is the sole cause of the disappearance of the Rio-Paris flight, as Pierre Sparaco Specialist Civil Aviation [says]: 'Normally, lightning can not have serious consequences for an airplane.'
("L'hypothèse d'un détournement 'est clairement écartée', a déclaré le ministre en charge des transports, Jean-Louis Borloo . Selon François Brousse , directeur de la communication d'Air France, l'appareil a vraisemblablement 'été foudroyé.' Mais certains experts doutent que la foudre soit l'unique cause de la disparition du vol Rio-Paris, comme Pierre Sparaco , spécialiste de l'aéronautique civile. 'Normalement, la foudre ne peut pas avoir de conséquences graves pour un avion'.)
Le Parisien:
"Sarkozy does not exclude any hypothesis"
The Times of London:
"Air traffic controllers had their last contact with the aircraft about four hours into the flight, when the pilot said that he had hit severe turbulence. Exactly 15 minutes later, seven hours before it was due in Paris, the aircraft's systems sent automatic error messages reporting multiple electrical faults and, according to a statement from the Brazilian air force, lost cabin pressure.
"The combination of the two implied that the Airbus A330-200 - a plane with an excellent safety record - might have simply broken up in the storm. Officials held out little hope of there being any survivors.
"'The most likely thing is that the plane was hit by lightning. The plane was in a stormy area with strong turbulence, which provoked problems,' said François Brouse, Air France's director of communications.
"'We are probably facing an air catastrophe,' added Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, the airline's chief executive. 'It's certainly no longer in the air now. It would have run out of fuel.''
Source: Airline BIZ Blog
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