Brazil Confirms Debris Came From Fallen Jet

Brazil's defense chief today made the grim news official: Debris found along a 3-mile stretch of ocean belongs to the Air France jet that went down in a storm, reports the BBC. "It confirms that the plane fell in this area," said Nelson Jobim, referring to a swath of the Atlantic about 400 miles from the Brazilian coast. Ships are expected to reach the area tomorrow, but there's no still no signs of any survivors.

"Our only certainty is that the plane did not send out any distress call but regular automatic alerts for three minutes indicating the failure of all systems," said the French prime minister. Among the 228 passengers and crew were two Americans: Geologist Michael Harris, 60, and his wife, Anne, who had moved from Houston to Rio last year, notes the Washington Post. (More Air France stories.)