Airlines Replace Monitors After Air France Crash

Thales made the Pitot tubes on the plane that crashed, company spokeswoman Caroline Philips confirmed. She did not say how many other planes use the devices.

Some major airlines — including U.S. carriers United Airlines, Delta Air Lines Inc., Delta's Northwest Airlines subsidiary and US Airways — said they are upgrading the devices on their Airbus planes, according to the manufacturer's recommendation, and warning pilots in the meantime.

"Until these installations are complete, we are communicating with our flight crews to reiterate the correct procedures to be used in the event of unreliable airspeed indications," Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said.

Some other major airlines said their Airbus jets use Pitots made by Goodrich and have had no problems related to icing or loss of data.

Airline industry officials also rallied to defend Airbus. At an industry conference in Kuala Lumpur, Emirates Airlines President Tim Clark said the Dubai-based company's 29 A330-200 planes have been flying since 1998 "and there is absolutely no reason why there should be any question over this plane."

The investigation was also examining the Air France plane's vertical stabilizer from the tail section, which was found floating in the ocean. Damage that can be seen in images appear to reflect a lateral fracture, said William Waldock, who teaches air crash investigation at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.