briefly Newcomer

OK. Thanks for your input on that one.

The point is that if the coordinates are included in those automated messages, then it is possible to work out the speed and direction that the plane was heading in. And it may well be that it had turned back towards Brazil at that point. But, as you mentioned too, perhaps no-one was looking at those messages in Paris, since officially they say the first alert they received was when the pilot failed to communicate at the next check point 50 minutes later. So that seems to confirm that the automated messages were not taken into account immediately, which is a little worrying isn't it ?