Air France disaster: 15 more bodies recovered from ocean

SEARCHERS found 15 more bodies from a crashed Air France jet yesterday and retrieved a large amount of debris from the plane that plunged into the Atlantic in the worst air disaster since 2001.

Nearly a week after the Airbus A330 crashed on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, killing all 228 people on board, 17 bodies have been recovered.

Investigators are considering the possibility the speed sensors on Flight 447 may have iced up and Air France said it was accelerating the replacement of speed sensors on all its Airbus long-haul planes.

The plane's pilots may have set the aircraft at a dangerous speed because they were relying on faulty speed readings, investigators say.

Air France said it had begun the switchover of speed sensors five weeks before the crash but only after disagreeing with Airbus over the planemaker's proposal to carry out tests first.

An Airbus spokesman said it could only discuss the investigation with French air authorities.

The recovered bodies are being taken to the islands of Fernando de Noronha, 230 miles off the coast of Brazil. Brazilian media said police were taking DNA samples from passengers' relatives to help identify the remains.

A French nuclear submarine is due in the area on Wednesday to help the search for the aircraft's black box flight recorders, which hold vital information.