French DC-10 Disappears Over Africa

PARIS--A DC-10 airliner bound from the Congo to Paris with 170 people aboard disappeared on Tuesday, probably over the West African country of Niger, the French airline UTA said.

A U.S. ambassador's wife was among the passengers, and a Chadian Cabinet minister also was reported to be on board.

UTA said there was no sign of the plane's fate by nightfall, more than five hours after contact was lost.

Bonnie Pugh, wife of U.S. Ambassador to Chad Robert L. Pugh, was aboard, according to Robert Ayling, the deputy chief of mission, reached by telephone in N'Djamena, Chad. He said it appeared a full-scale search would have to wait until daylight Wednesday.

A State Department spokesperson in Washington, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed Mrs. Pugh was aboard.

The airline said it believed the search focused on Niger, along the path the plane would have taken, and could involve military forces from Chad, Niger and France, which has a small force in Chad.

Keith Takahashi, a spokesman for the McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Co. in Long Beach, Calif., identified the aircraft as a DC-10-30, a popular model in the DC-10 series.

The French news agency Agence France-Presse, quoting unidentified sources, said Chadian Planning Minister Mahamat Soumahila was also aboard, bound for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington.

The report was not confirmed, and UTA did not immediately issue a passenger list.

UTA Flight 772, with 155 passengers and 15 crew, originated in the Congolese capital of Brazzaville and made a stopover in N'Djamena.

The last radio contact between the plane and air traffic controllers, 40 to 50 minutes after leaving the airport at N'Djamena, indicated that everything was normal, the airline said.

UTA said that would be enough flight time to take the plane over the border into neighboring Niger. It reported no unusual weather in the area at the time.

The French navy dispatched a Dassault-Breguet Atlantique patrol aircraft from Dakar, Senegal, to join the search, the Defense Ministry said.

UTA said it believed the search focused on Niger, along the path the plane would have taken, and could involve military forces from Chad, Niger and France, which has a small force in Chad.

The Foreign Ministry formed a crisis team to maintain contact with the countries over which the plane could have flown, including Niger and Algeria, a ministry spokesman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.