RIO DE JANEIRO , Brazil ( CNN ) -- Debris located early Tuesday in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Brazil is wreckage from the Air France jet that disappeared Monday , Brazil 's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said . A French search and rescue crew scans the Atlantic for wreckage Tuesday . No survivors have been found , he said . Jobim made the announcement after meeting with relatives and friends of Brazilians who were among the 228 people aboard Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris , France . Two debris fields were found about 650 km ( 400 miles ) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha Islands , an archipelago 355 kilometers ( 220 miles ) off the northeast coast of Brazil -- or at latitude 2 north , longitude 30 west , the Ministry of Defense said on its Web site . One of the fields was 5 km ( 3 miles ) long and that both lie near the flight path between Rio de Janeiro and Paris . Among the wreckage was an airplane seat , metal debris , an orange float , a drum and an oil spill , the posting said . See map of suspected crash zone » . Brazilian air force planes spotted the debris field Tuesday morning , but it was not until a French commercial vessel arrived on the scene that the debris ' origin was confirmed . The planes searched 10,000 square kilometers ( 3,861 square miles ) of ocean throughout the day and will continue to search for more debris overnight , the Brazilian Air Force Said . Two Netherlands-flagged vessels were expected to arrive in the area later in the day ; a Brazilian navy ship was expected to arrive Wednesday , officials said . Brazilian air force jets were continuing to comb the area for other debris , and a U.S. P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft was assisting as well . Watch how wreckage has been spotted in Atlantic » . The searchers also want to find the cockpit voice and data recorders , which might shed light on what caused the jet to disappear before any of the three pilots was able to issue a mayday . `` That really is an ominous sign , '' said former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Managing Director Peter Goelz . `` It means , whatever happened , it happened so quickly that the pilots were not able to radio out . It probably indicates a catastrophic failure at altitude . '' He said that meteorologists have been checking weather data over the area `` to see if there was some phenomenon that was taking place -- so far , we have n't seen it . '' The Airbus A330 encountered heavy turbulence early Monday , about three hours into what was supposed to be an 11-hour flight , according to the airline . The plane carried 216 passengers -- 126 men , 82 women , seven children and a baby -- and 12 crew members , Air France said . The majority of the people on the flight came from Brazil , France and Germany . Other victims were from 29 other countries , including three from the United States . Of the crew , 11 were French , and one was Brazilian . A team of approximately 20 Air France staff members , including two doctors and a nurse , arrived Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro to assist families of the victims , the airline said . An inter-religious ceremony is to be held Wednesday afternoon inside Paris ' Notre Dame Cathedral for family and friends of the victims . Though it will be closed to news media , a sound recording of the ceremony will be broadcast into the square outside . An official list of victims by name was not available Tuesday afternoon , but two Americans on board -- Michael Harris , 60 , and his wife , Anne , 54 -- were identified by the couple 's family and his employer . Prince Pedro Luis de Orleans e Braganca , a member of Brazil 's non-reigning royal family , was also on the flight , his family said Monday . Pedro Luis was 26 . Also on the flight were two executives of the French tire company Michelin : Michelin Latin America President Luiz Roberto Anastacio and Antonio Gueiro , director of informatics . Read more about victims on Air France Flight 447 . The jet was 4 years old and had last undergone routine maintenance April 16 . The Air France plane has built-in homing devices , said Greg Feith , a former investigator with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board . Homing devices such as `` pingers , '' which are underwater locator beacons attached to flight data and cockpit voice recorders , can transmit signals from as deep as 14,000 feet , about the maximum depth of the waters in the area . The average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is about 12,000 feet : more than 2 miles . `` They 're water-activated , so if they 're sitting at the bottom of the ocean , of course , then the military assets will have to go in there with listening devices and try and home in on those particular signals , '' Feith said . Shortly before it disappeared , the plane 's automatic system initiated a four-minute exchange of messages to the company 's maintenance computers , indicating that `` several pieces of aircraft equipment were at fault or had broken down , '' Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said Monday . The jet , which was flying at 35,000 feet and at 521 mph , also sent a warning that it had lost pressure , the Brazilian air force said . There was no contact with the crew during or after the time that the automatic messages were sent , Gourgeon said . `` It was probable that it was a little bit after those messages that the impact of the plane took place in the Atlantic , '' he added . CNN 's John Zarrella , Kim Segal and Nesta Distin and journalist Helena DeMoura contributed to this report .
ET : Pilots ' failure to issue mayday ` ` ominous sign , '' former accident report says . NEW : Memorial service to be held tomorrow at Paris ' Notre Dame Cathedral . Large debris fields found about 400 miles northeast of Fernando de Noronha Airport . Flight 447 , traveling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris , was carrying 228 passengers .