Air France Flight Missing, Likely Lost

Contributing Editor Carl Unger believes that every trip is worth taking. He loves an extended trip to Europe as much as he enjoys exploring the towns and landscape near home. Basically, you'll find him wherever there is good food, fresh air, and plenty of stories to bring home.

Carl has been writing for SmarterTravel since 2005. His travel writing has also appeared on USA Today and the About.com Boston travel guide.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: "It's not revolutionary, but a small Moleskine notebook is my one travel must-have. It's great for noting things you want to remember and it takes up hardly any space in your bag."

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: "Japan. I'd love to take a month off and visit the cities, temples, and countryside. I'm fascinated by the country's juxtaposition of ancient traditions and modern ambitions."

Travel Motto: “Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” –Terry Pratchett

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: "Window."

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An Air France plane bound for Paris from Rio de Janeiro has gone missing off the coast of Brazil. Details of the plane’s disappearance are murky at best, but authorities have ruled out terrorism and instead have determined the plane went down over water.

Of those murky details, however, all we know is the plane sent out an automatic message signaling equipment failure as it passed through an area of thunderstorms and turbulence, suggesting the plane may have encountered lightning.

We’ll post any major developments as they come up. For up-to-the-minute details, check CNN.com. BBC News has a map showing where the plane is thought to have gone down.

**Update, June 2: Multiple sources are reporting that Brazilian aircraft spotted debris in the Atlantic where Air France flight 447 is thought to have gone down. According to BBC News, searchers cannot say for certain that the debris came from the Airbus plane, though the debris does appear to be from an aircraft.

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