Body of Air France Flight 447 pilot found

The body of Air France Flight 447’s‚ chief pilot was identified among the 50 bodies that have thus far been recovered about 300 miles off the coast of Brazil’s Fernando de Noronha islands, Air France said Wednesday.

The body of a male flight attendant was also identified.‚ Investigators are using dental records, DNA from family members and fingerprints to help identify the bodies that have been found so far.

According to international police agency Interpol and the German Foreign Ministry, 14 of the 50 recovered bodies have been positively identified. Eight Brazilians, one Brazilian-German, one Brazilian-Swiss, one Briton and three Germans make up the 14.

The CBC reports the names have not yet been released, however a pilots’ union named the captain as Marc Dubois.

The search continues

Brazilian and French forces continue to search for debris and bodies in the icy Atlantic Ocean.

Just days ago French newspaper Le Monde reported that searchers picked up faint signals thought to have been emitted from the plane’s sunken black box recorders. French officials later denied the rumors, saying the signals were not emitted from the recorders.

The beacons attached to the black boxes emit signals that can be picked up from just over a mile away. They can only emit the signals for 30 days. The plane crashed 24 days ago.

Two French ships are currently looking for the beacon, using American underwater technology. The Emeraude, a French mini sub, is also trolling the suspected crash site.

Air France Flight 447 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 just hours after taking off from Rio de Janeiro. Before it disappeared off radar, it sent a flurry‚ of automated messages that indicated it may have been flying at an improper speed through harsh weather.

One of the messages suggests the plane’s external speed sensors, known as Pitot tubes, may have iced over. Air France has ordered that all Pitot tubes on all of its medium- and long-haul jets be replaced.