An Italian woman who did not board the Air France flight that crashed in the Atlantic, killing all its 228 passengers, has died in a car accident.

Johanna Ganthaler, a pensioner from the northern Italian province of Bolzano-Bozen, and her husband Kurt missed the June 1 Air France flight 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris after arriving late at the airport.

Johanna and Kurt Ganthaler were vacationing in Brazil, when they missed the ill-fated Air France flight and were forced to catch a different flight later that day.

Just days later after returning to Europe, Johanna lost her life when their car went off the road near the Austrian city of Kufstein.

MJ/HGH