Heavy seas and low cloud today hampered the search for the wreckage of the Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic with 228 people on board.

Brazil descended into air chaos again today after the nation’s leading airline cancelled dozens of flights to and from the country’s busiest airport.

A week after one of its jets exploded after landing on a short and rain-slicked runway, TAM airlines today cancelled or diverted 90 flights at Brazil’s busiest airport.

A disconnected thrust reverser on the airliner which overshot a runway in Brazil emerged today as a possible factor in the crash in which 190 people were killed.

A TAM jet pulled out of an attempted landing today at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport, and federal prosecutors sought a court order to shut the entire airport - Brazil’s busiest – until the investigation into this week’s crash that killed at least 189 people is completed.

A top aviation official denied that a short, slippery runway was to blame for Brazil’s worst air disaster.

The pilot of an airliner that burst into flames after trying to land on a short, rain-slicked runway apparently tried to take off again, barely clearing rush-hour traffic on a major highway. The death toll rose today to 189 and could climb higher.

Rescue crews today pulled dozens of bodies from a plane that crashed and burst into flames at a Sao Paulo airport, as the number of people feared dead rose to 195 in what would be Brazil’s worst air disaster.

The president of Brazil declared a state of mourning after more than 200 people were feared dead in what is believed to be the country’s deadliest air disaster.

EASTENDERS for gritty realism, Corrie for a bit of light entertainment and Fair City for insomniacs desperate to catch up on some sleep.