RECIFE , Brazil ( CNN ) -- Seventeen bodies have been recovered from last week 's crash of an Air France jetliner off the South American coast , Brazil 's military said Sunday . A boat from the Brazilian navy picks up debris in the Atlantic on Sunday . The Brazilian navy and air force said they found nine bodies in the Atlantic Ocean , where the Airbus A330-200 went down . The crew of a French vessel taking part in the search has found eight , military officials told reporters Sunday evening . Air France 447 disappeared over the Atlantic early Monday . The jet was en route to Paris , France , from Rio de Janeiro , Brazil , with 228 passengers and crew aboard . The bodies were found floating about 700 miles ( 1,100 kilometers ) from the Brazilian coast . Items found in the same area Saturday were confirmed to have come from the jet , including pieces of the aircraft 's wing section , luggage and a leather briefcase containing an airplane ticket with a reservation code for the doomed flight , Brazilian air force spokesman Jorge Amaral told CNN . The exact location of the crash has not been determined , since ocean currents likely caused the bodies and debris to drift in the six days since the crash . And two key pieces of evidence -- the flight data and cockpit voice recorders -- remain missing , and could lay on the ocean floor . Map of Flight 447 's flight path » . The part of the ocean where the debris and bodies have been found ranges between 19,685 and 26,247 feet ( 6,000 and 8,000 meters ) deep . The search area covers 77,220 square miles ( 200,000 square km ) , an area nearly as big as the country of Romania . CNN 's Carl Penhaul reports on more bodies found » . Fourteen aircraft -- 12 Brazilian and two French -- were participating in the recovery efforts , along with five Brazilian ships and one French frigate . In Washington , a U.S. defense official told CNN the U.S. Navy will contribute two high-tech acoustic devices to listen for emergency beacons still operating in deep water . The `` towed pinger locators '' help search for emergency beacons on downed aircraft to a maximum depth of 20,000 feet , and will be placed aboard two French tugs that are part of the search efforts , the official said . Recovery of bodies and debris is significant not only for families , but for crash investigators , said Mary Schiavo , a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation . `` Even if they do n't find anything else they can get some very important clues from the pieces that they do find and from the human remains , '' Schiavo told CNN Saturday . She said investigators would be able to discern if there was an explosion from possible residue on the bodies or other items . Or , if water is found in the lungs of victims , investigators would know the plane went down intact , she said . Investigators in Paris said Saturday that the Air France flight sent out 24 automated error messages lasting about four minutes before it crashed . The error messages suggest the plane may have been flying too fast or too slow through severe thunderstorms it encountered before the crash , officials said . Schiavo said the four minutes of automated signals sent from the plane `` was a very long time . '' Investigators also reported the airline failed to replace a part on the aircraft , as recommended by the manufacturer , Airbus . Airbus had advised airlines to update equipment that monitors speed , known as Pitot tubes . The recommendation was a result of technological developments and improvements , an Airbus spokesman told CNN . The change was not mandatory , and the spokesman would not comment on Air France 's failure to follow the advice . CNN 's Karl Penhaul , Richard Quest and Barbara Starr contributed to this report .
NEW : Brazilian military finds nine bodies ; crew of French vessel finds eight . Plane disappeared over Atlantic Ocean last week . U.S. to contribute high-tech devices to look for plane 's emergency beacons .