Two names on the doomed AF 447's passenger manifest also appear on a list of radical Muslims considered a threat to France, Sky News reported quoting French investigators.
French secret servicemen established the connection while working through the list of those who boarded the doomed Airbus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on May 31, the channel said.
Agents are now trying to establish dates of birth for the two dead passengers, and family connections, the channel quoted a source as saying. There is a possibility that the name similarities are simply a "macabre coincidence," the source added, but the revelation is still being "taken very seriously."
A source working for the French security services told Paris weekly LExpress that the link was "highly significant." The French police however appeared to downplay the possibility of a terror link and said this was a simple coincidence while ruling out a link to the accident.
A senior French officer was quoted as saying that the names were "simple namesakes" and dismissed the notion that the suspects were on board, adding that this line of enquiry had been dismissed.
The website of L'Express had also reported that French agents were making inquiries after finding the names of two suspected Islamist militants on the manifest
Flight 447 crashed in mid-Atlantic en route to Paris during a violent storm with the loss of all 228 people on board. Officials have not yet identified the cause of the crash, but so far the investigation appears to have concentrated on the stormy weather in the area and a possible problem with the Airbus A330's airspeed monitors.
While aviation experts have said it is certain that there were computer malfunctions, terrorism has not yet been ruled out. Soon after news of the fatal crash broke, agents working for the DGSE (Direction Gnrale de la Scurit Extrieure), were dispatched to Brazil.
It was there that they established that two names on the passenger list are also on highly classified documents listing the names of radical Muslims considered a threat to the French Republic, the TV channel reported.
France has received numerous threats from Islamic terrorist groups in recent months, especially since French troops were sent to fight in Afghanistan.
