Air France Flight AF447 water crash - overview, picture timeline, updates

03 June 2009 The wreckage and debris field of Flight AF 447 were found Tuesday afternoon (CET) taking almost 36 hours of effort from rescuers and search teams. The GPS system would be of great help to trace the position of any flying object. Despite the fact that satellite technology is already available and being more developed, the costs and financial reasons determine the air companies not to use it. Some aircrafts are matched with GPS units, but they are quite "primitive" - like those used in the cars - due to fact that they are not reversible and capable of sending back data to the satellites.