BRASILIA - Brazil's air force said on Monday its aircraft were searching the Atlantic Ocean off northeast Brazil for an Air France passenger plane that went missing midway through a Rio-Paris flight.

The Airbus A330 on flight AF447 disappeared off radar screens at 0600 GMT and did not land as scheduled at 0910 GMT in Paris, the air force and Air France said.

Air force aircraft were conducting their search over the ocean beyond Brazil's Fernando do Noronha island located far from the mainland, a spokesman said.

Air France said it had 216 passengers and 15 crew members on board.