Air France 447 flying at 'wrong' speed

Brazilian search crews fished the first debris from a crashed Air France flight out of choppy Atlantic waters on Thursday amid concern the plane may have flown through a storm at the wrong speed.

Citing sources close to the inquiry, French newspaper Le Monde said the plane's maker, Airbus EAD.PA, was preparing to issue a recommendation advising airlines that fly the A330 of optimal speeds during poor weather conditions.

Airbus declined to comment and the French air accident investigation agency, which has to validate any such recommendations, was not available for comment.

Pilots often slow down when entering stormy zones to avoid damaging the aircraft, but reducing speed too much can cause an aircraft's engines to stall.

A Brazilian Lynx helicopter picked up a luggage pallet and two buoys before returning to a navy frigate sent to the area to help with the rescue, Brazil's air force said.

The crews also found yellow, brown and white items that appeared to come from the inside of the aircraft.

Searchers have found several debris sites spread out over 90 km (56 miles), a sign the plane may have broken up in the air.

The Air France A330-200 was en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it plunged into the Atlantic four hours into its flight. Air France has told relatives of the 228 people on board there is no hope of survivors.

Experts have been mystified by the sudden crash of a modern airliner operated by three experienced pilots, with theories on the cause ranging from extreme turbulence to a loss of cabin pressure to possible computer system faults.

Three Brazilian navy ships are searching the area about 1,100 km (680 miles) northeast of Brazil's coast, but have yet to reach the debris. Searchers have seen no traces of bodies.

"We were giving priority to finding bodies, but as we haven't found any we have time to collect the debris," Air Force Brigadier Ramon Borges Cardoso told reporters in the northern coastal city of Recife. "If we find bodies, we will stop everything and bring them here."