Flight 447 data boxes still not found

PARIS, June 25 (UPI) -- Time is fleeting to find Air France Flight 447's data recorders, which investigators say are vital in learning what caused the plane to crash into the ocean.

Meanwhile, the flight's captain and a cabin steward are among the 11 bodies that have been identified, Air France said Thursday on its Web site.

So far, 50 bodies have been pulled from the Atlantic Ocean along with debris. However, investigators still are looking for the so-called black boxes they say could provide vital information about what caused the jetliner to plummet into the Atlantic off the Brazilian coast June 1, killing all 228 passengers and crew members on board, CNN reported.

The wreckage is believed to be about 15,000 feet deep in a mountainous region underwater that also holds tons of sea trash, officials said.

A French nuclear submarine and other vessels are searching for the flight data recorders by trying to track locator beacons that can remain active for about 30 days. The U.S. Navy has contributed two high-tech acoustic devices that can search to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet, CNN said.

One of the data recorders tapes radio transmissions and cockpit sounds, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The second recorder contains information such as time, altitude and airspeed.

The Airbus A330 crashed off the Brazilian coast several hours after it departed Rio de Janeiro for Paris.