A Brazilian Air Force radar plane at Fernando de Noronha airport preparing for the search of the Air France flight 447 bound for Paris that plunged into the Atlantic just a few hours after taking off on late May 31 from Rio de Janeiro. [Xinhua/AFP]

A Brazilian air force spokesman said on Tuesday that debris possibly from the missing Air France plane had been found.

Jorge Amaral said aircraft seats, one orange life buoy, engine oil and kerosene were spotted floating in the Atlantic Ocean about 650 km northeast of the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha by search planes at around 5:25 on Tuesday morning (0825 GMT).

No signs of life were found in two sightings of separate debris areas, which are about 160 km apart.

The aircraft seats and other debris were found along the path the missing plane had taken, but the authorities could not immediately confirm they was from the plane, which, with 228 passengers on board, vanished on Sunday night about four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris.

Officials need more identification to be sure the debris came from the airliner.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2009)