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Inquiry: Pilot error in Air France crash

In this photo released by the Brazilian Air Force members of Brazil's Navy recover debris from the missing Air France jet in the Atlantic Ocean, June 8, 2009. UPI/Brazilian Air Force
In this photo released by the Brazilian Air Force members of Brazil's Navy recover debris from the missing Air France jet in the Atlantic Ocean, June 8, 2009. UPI/Brazilian Air Force | License Photo

PARIS, July 5 (UPI) -- Pilot error and failure to react to technical problems caused the 2009 crash of an Air France airliner that killed 288 people, an investigator's report said.

The Brazil-to-France bound Airbus A330, Air France Flight 447, crashed into the Atlantic on June 1, 2009, killing all aboard.

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France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis said in its final report Thursday the pilots failed to respond to problems with the plane's speed indicators, which gave false readings, or to correct its trajectory, CNN reported. The investigators made new recommendations for pilot training and certification of planes. Investigators made 25 safety recommendations last year in an initial report.

CNN said the French investigation blamed the crash on a loss of awareness of the situation by the pilots, and the airline travel industry will be studying the reactions of the crew on the plane for some years to come.

A separate judicial investigation will examine who bears responsibility for the crash.

French divers made four searches over nearly two years to locate the wreckage and the majority of the bodies in a deep underwater mountain range, CNN said.

The airliner's s voice recorder and flight data recorder were found in May 2011 on the ocean floor.

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