Debris may not have been from missing jet

Brazil’s military forces said the only piece of the debris they recovered thus far from the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday did not belong to the Air France Flight 447 that disappeared Sunday night on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris,throwing the investigation into confusion and angering the French Government. The Brazilian military said it had spotted other debris floating in the water,including an airplane seat,a drum and a life jacket some 600 miles off the coast of Brazil — items the Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said he was sure were from the stricken Airbus A330. But because the military said it had initially been concentrating on finding survivors,it had not immediately retrieved these items to determine their authenticity.

Airbus,the manufacturer of the missing jet,issued a warning on Thursday to all its customers to follow established procedures when pilots suspect airspeed indicators are not functioning properly. The bulletin appeared to be the first hint that malfunctioning instruments indicators might have played an important role in the crash that Air France said had killed all 228 onboard.

France’s Transportation Minister Dominique Bussereau urged “extreme prudence” about judging the source of any debris that is recovered until it could be properly analysed.

On Thursday,the Brazilian military said it had recovered an eight-foot long structural support piece,a pallet,used in the cargo area of airplanes. But by Thursday night,the military had retracted.