( CNN ) -- The memory unit that may tell why an Air France jet plunged into the Atlantic nearly two years ago was recovered from the bottom of the ocean Sunday , France 's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis ( BEA ) said . A remote-controlled submarine , known as the Remora 6000 , located the memory unit Sunday morning and it was lifted on board the search ship Ile de Sein six hours later , the Paris-based BEA said . All 228 people aboard the Air France Flight 447 were killed when the plane fell into the ocean on the way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1 , 2009 . The submarine found the orange-colored flight data recorder 's chassis Wednesday , the second day of an operation that also hopes to retrieve bodies from the wreckage site . The memory unit was part of the recorder , but was not attached when it was found . The flight recorder chassis is found last week . The finds come more than three weeks after search teams found the tail section of the Airbus A330 . Air France , in a written statement Sunday , called the discovery `` very significant . '' `` We hope that the BEA , in charge of the technical investigation , will be able to provide answers to questions that relatives of the victims , Air France and the entire airline industry have been asking for nearly two years as to why this tragic accident occurred , '' the airline 's statement said . A British aviation consultant said he is skeptical about how useful the memory unit will be to investigators , considering it has been sitting between 2,000 to 4,000 meters ( 6,562 to 13,124 feet ) below the ocean 's surface for 23 months . `` If you were to throw a computer into the ocean , imagine how all the parts would eventually split and you have the corrosive effects of seawater and the depths involved , '' Phil Seymour , chief operating officer of the International Bureau of Aviation , said Thursday . Father of crash victim : Leave remains . `` It may be that the more wreckage they find will help them to piece it all together , which bit by bit could help them build a picture of what caused the plane to come down , '' Seymour said . Martine Del Bono , a spokeswoman for the Paris-based BEA , says there is a good chance the memory unit , which records any instructions sent to the aircraft 's electronic systems , will still hold retrievable data . The Airbus A330 's pilots lost contact with air traffic controllers while flying across an area of the Atlantic Ocean known for constant bands of severe turbulence , officials said . Q & A : Will mystery ever be solved ? But exactly what caused the plane to plunge into the sea has remained a mystery , with only small portions of the wreckage and a handful of bodies found in the remote area where it went down . CNN 's Ayesha Durgahee contributed to this report .
NEW : Air France calls the recovery ` ` very significant '' British aviation expert skeptical data remains ; French expert hopeful . All 228 people aboard the Air France Flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris were killed . The Airbus A330 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 , 2018 .