Relatives of those on missing Air France flight arriving at CDG

(1 Jun 2009) SHOTLIST
1. People including media waiting outside Charles de Gaulle airport terminal
2. Relatives of passengers onboard missing Air France Flight 447 arriving at terminal on bus
3. Various of relatives of passengers walking towards Air France information centre
4. More relatives of missing passengers arriving on bus
5. Various of relatives of missing passengers and airline staff walking towards Air France information centre
6. Police lined up in airport terminal outside information centre
7. Relatives of missing passengers entering airport terminal
STORYLINE
People at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport were waiting for news of their loved ones after an Air France jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris lost contact with air traffic controllers and ran into lightning and strong thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean, officials said on Monday.
Brazil began a search mission for the plane off its northeastern coast.
Chief Air France spokesperson Francois Brousse said "it is possible" that the plane was hit by lightning.
Another Air France spokesperson Brigitte Barrand said the airline set up an information centre at Charles de Gaulle airport for the families of those on board.
Distraught relatives were ushered into the centre by police and airline staff.
The centre said 60 French citizens were on the plane, and Italy said at least three passengers were Italian.
Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, left Rio on Sunday at 7 pm local time (2200 GMT, 6 pm EDT) with 216 passengers and 12 crew members on board, company spokeswoman Brigitte Barrand said.
About four hours later, the plane sent an automatic signal indicating electrical problems while going through strong turbulence, Air France said.
The plane "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence" at 0200 GMT Monday (10 pm EDT Sunday) the airline said.
An automatic message was received fourteen minutes later "signalling electrical circuit malfunction," Air France said.
Brazil's Air Force said the last contact it had with the Air France jet was at 0136 GMT (9:30pm EDT Sunday), but did not say where the plane was at that time.
Brazil's air force was searching near the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, about 300 kilometres (180 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Natal, a spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.
Air France-KLM CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said the pilot had 11-thousand hours of flying experience, including 1,700 hours flying this aircraft.
No name was released.
Airbus said it was cooperating with transport authorities and Air France, but would not comment further until more details emerged.
The Airbus A330-200 is a twin-engine, long-haul, medium-capacity passenger jet, and is 58.8 metres (190 feet) long, according to Airbus.
It is a shortened version of the standard A330, and can hold up to 253 passengers.
It first went into service in 1998, there are 341 in use worldwide today. It can fly up to 7,760 miles (12,500 kilometres).
French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed his "extreme worry" and planned to visit the Charles de Gaulle airport later on Monday.
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