On-site work by the cable-laying ship the « Ile de Ré », which began on Sunday 26 August, has come to an end. The ship, made available to the BEA by Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks and operated by Louis Dreyfus Armateurs, has to leave Papeete on the morning of Thursday 6 September.

The Ile de Ré's mission was to search for and examine the wreckage located at a depth of about seven hundred metres, to recover any bodies that might be found, to bring to the surface the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and airplane parts designated, after observation, by the BEA investigators.

The professionalism and devotion of the seamen and technicians on the Ile de Ré and the BEA investigators allowed these operations to be conducted successfully. The various parts of the airplane were identified and observed. The CVR, the engines and various parts of the cockpit have been raised. The body of one of the accident victims was found.

The mission, conducted with coordination from the French Republic's High Commissioner in Polynesia, has been undertaken in close collaboration with the judicial authorities and in the presence of senior police officers from the Air Transport Gendarmerie.

The BEA investigators are now returning to Le Bourget to proceed with the readout and analysis of all of the elements gathered.