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FRANCE
Pilot Saw Storm Ahead
The last manual message from the pilot of Air France Flight 447 indicated the plane was headed into a storm.
Ten minutes later a flurry of automated messages began: The autopilot had disengaged, a key computer system had switched to alternative power. Controls needed to keep the plane stable had been damaged. An alarm sounded indicating flight systems deteriorated.
Three minutes after that, systems needed to monitor airspeed, altitude and direction failed, and then the main flight computer and wing spoilers failed as well.
The last message reported loss of cabin pressure and complete electrical failure -- catastrophic events in a plane that was probably plunging toward the ocean.
French and Brazilian officials had already announced some details about the messages, but a more complete chronology was published Wednesday by Brazil's O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper, citing an unidentified Air France source. The Associated Press confirmed the information with an industry official who had knowledge of the investigation. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the probe.
The burst of messages -- sent automatically by the jetliner's computer systems -- do not explain what caused the disaster, which destroyed the plane carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro to Paris late Sunday. But the official told the AP that they hold a key to establishing how the airliner went down.
-- Associated Press
BURMA
Suu Kyi Trial Delayed
The trial of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was delayed again after a court in the army-ruled country agreed to hear an appeal of an earlier decision barring three of her defense witnesses.
The Nobel Peace laureate's trial on charges she violated her house arrest was to have final arguments Friday, paving the way for a widely expected guilty verdict and a prison sentence of up to five years. But the final hearing was postponed after the court agreed to hear an appeal to include testimony from the rejected defense witnesses, her attorney Nyan Win said.
