sflightn1Film 2009 06 02 Video

Meteorologists said
tropical storms are much more violent than thunderstorms in the United States and elsewhere.

"Tropical thunderstorms ... can tower up to 50,000 feet (15,240 meters).
At the altitude it was flying, it's possible that the Air France plane flew directly
into the most charged part of the storm — the top,"
Henry Margusity, senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.com, said in a statement.

The plane left Brazil radar contact, beyond the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, at 10:48 local time (0148 GMT, 9:48 p.m. EDT), indicating it was flying normally at 35,000 feet (10,670 meters) and traveling at 522 mph (840 kph).
About a half-hour later, the plane "crossed through a thunderous zone with strong turbulence."
It sent an automatic message fourteen minutes later at 0214 GMT (10:14 p.m. EDT Sunday)
reporting electrical failure and

a loss of cabin pressure.

Air France told Brazilian authorities the last information they heard was that automated message reporting a technical problem before the plane reached a monitoring station near the Cape Verde islands.