The Air Comet co-pilot and a passenger aboard the same flight also saw the light.

CNN: Brazilian air force says debris was not from Air France crash

Air Comet declined to identify the pilot's name but said he waited until landing to inform Air Comet management about what he saw.

CNN: Brazilian air force says debris was not from Air France crash

Air Comet then informed Spanish civil aviation authorities.

CNN: Brazilian air force says debris was not from Air France crash

However, both pilots of an Air Comet flight from Lima, Peru, to Lisbon, Portugal, sent a written report on the bright flash they said they saw to Air France, Airbus and the Spanish civil aviation authority, the airline told CNN.

CNN: Brazilian air force says debris was not from Air France crash

In 1953, jet flight experts were struggling to understand why a number of Comet airliners had inexplicably crashed, throwing the entire prospect of commercial jet air travel into doubt.

BBC: Black box: Key to investigations