Backgrounder: Airbus A330-200

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PARIS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- An Air France Airbus A330-200 went missing on Sunday over the Atlantic Ocean and all 228 people on board were feared dead.

The following are some basic facts about the airliner:

The A330-200 is a shortened version of the Airbus A330, a large-capacity, wide-body, two-engine, medium-to-long-range commercial passenger airliner. It also has variants of freighter and tanker.

By March 31, a total of 1,595 A330 had been ordered and 600 delivered. The A330-200 was first introduced in August 1997 and its current price is about 180 million U.S. dollars.

The A330-200 has an overall length of 58.8 meters and wingspan of 60.3 meters. It can hold passengers up to 253.

According to Air France, the airliner that disappeared on Monday entered service in 2005 and underwent last maintenance on April 16. It has accumulated about 18,800 flight hours in some 2,500 flights.

GE Aviation spokesman Rick Kennedy denied engine trouble as a possible cause, saying its CF6-80E engine "is the most popular andreliable engine that we have for big airplanes in the world," and is being used in more than 15,000 airplanes.

An Air France Airbus A330-200 went missing on Sunday over the Atlantic Ocean and all 228 people on board were feared dead.