First report on Air France crash released

PARIS, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The Airbus A330 of Air France Flight 447 plunged vertically into the Atlantic Ocean but did not break up in the air, said the BEA accident investigation agency on Thursday when it released its first report on the June 1 crash.

A handout picture from the Brazilian Navy released on June 22, 2009 shows Brazilian Navy warships searching for debris from Air France Airbus A330 out of the Atlantic Ocean. Brazilian Navy announced on Monday that they found more debris of the crashed Air France Airbus A330. (Xinhua Photo)

The agency added that the faults of the speed sensors were not the cause of the crash.

"The plane was not destroyed in mid-air," said Alain Bouillard of the BEA during a news conference at BEA headquarters outside Paris.

"The plane appears to have hit the surface of the water in flying position with a strong vertical acceleration," he noted, adding that the plane's belly hit the water first.

After one month of probe into the crash, investigators also found the faults of speed sensors on Airbus A330 were "a factor but not the cause."