French government officials have announced that the search in the Atlantic for the flight recorders of a crashed Air France jet will resume early next year. Flight AF447 was carrying 228 people when it was lost by air traffic control as it flew to Paris from Rio de Janeiro. None of those on board the plane survived.

Although the whereabouts of the data recorders is still unknown, previous searches of the ocean have resulted in a large amount of debris being recovered including the Airbus A330-200’s tail. A total of 50 bodies have also been pulled from the water.

Some of the victims’ families have demanded that the search continues until experts can tell them exactly what went wrong. The incident occurred during a thunderstorm. So far, accident investigators think that one of the causes may have been a fault in the aircraft’s speed indicating equipment. However, it is agreed that this is unlikely to have been the only cause.

It is unlikely that a complete version of events will be established unless the flight’s data recorders can be recovered. As well as containing information about the aircraft’s mechanical systems, the black boxes will have recorded the final conversation between the pilots. French officials have said previously that there is no guarantee that the recorders will ever be located.

French junior minister for transport, Thierry Mariani, said the fourth phase of the search will begin in February next year. He added that teams conducting the investigation will be using the very latest equipment.