Germanwings flight 4U 9525, which went down in the French Alps killing all 150 people on board, was likely deliberately crashed by the co-pilot. He was alone in the cockpit when the accident occurred, according to a French prosecutor.
31 March 2015
French President Francois Hollande said that all the victims of Germanwings jet crash will be identified by the end of the week.
"The French interior minister confirmed that by the end of the week at the latest it will be possible to identify all of the victims thanks to DNA samples," he said at a press conference.
However, earlier French experts said that the identification process would take months.
“Subject to the number of body parts found, the time period could fluctuate between two months, at least, and four months,” the head of the Criminal Research Institute at France's National Gendarmerie, Colonel Francois Daoust, said.
27 March 2015
Germanwings did not receive the sick note of pilot Lubitz that would have covered the date of the catastrophe in France, it said on Friday. “Media reports say that the co-pilot on FU 9525 had a sick note for the day of the accident. Germanwings would like to clarify that no medical note was presented to the firm for this day,” the airline said.
Düsseldorf University Hospital said in a statement on Friday that the co-pilot of the Lufthansa A320 plane was its patient from February-March 10, 2015, DPA news agency reported. “Reports telling that Andreas L. [Lubitz] received treatment against depression at our clinic are inaccurate,” said a hospital spokeswoman, adding that “it was diagnostic tests.” Its director Klaus Höffken said the clinic will assist the investigation in an “active and unconditional” way.
The German Federal Aviation Office (LBA) has requested the medical records of the Germanwings co-pilot to pass it to the French prosecutor’s office, Tass reported Friday. An LBA spokesperson said that pilots have to pass annual medical tests in their company’s medical center to obtain a new flight fitness license.
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Here's the building near Düsseldorf where the Germanwings co-pilot lived. Next door neighbors put a flag at half mast pic.twitter.com/JNxGF2Vuxp
— Michael Birnbaum (@michaelbirnbaum) March 27, 2015
Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz underwent treatment at the Dusseldorf University Hospital, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed Friday. The treatment was unrelated to depression, Susanne Dopheide told RIA Novosti news agency. Earlier, German media reported that Lubitz may have received treatment for depression.
France's leading pilots’ union has announced it is filing a lawsuit over leaks about the investigation into the Germanwings plane crash. Information about ongoing investigations must be kept secret, according to French law.
The lawsuit doesn't name an alleged perpetrator, a method in French law that leaves investigators to determine who is at fault, Guillaume Schmid of France's SNPL union told AP.
"We can understand there is a certain pressure, a wish to know," Schmid said, but added that leaking information too early can mislead the public.
Italian carrier Alitalia has announced its flights will have two people in the cockpit at all times, a spokesman for the company told The Local.
Police have found a torn sick leave note for the date of the crashed Germanwings flight in the home of Andreas Lubitz, suspected of voluntarily bringing the plane down, Dusseldorf prosecutors say. Prosecutors believe Lubitz could have been concealing his illness from the company.
News: Co-pilot had a 'medical excuse' to have the day off on the day of the crash. Was being treated by the doctor' #Airlivenet
— Polly Rodgers (@PollyR_Aviation) March 27, 2015
"Documents with medical contents were confiscated that point towards an existing illness and corresponding treatment by doctors," said the Prosecutors' Office in Dusseldorf, Reuters reports.
"The fact there are sick notes saying he was unable to work, among other things, that were found torn up, which were recent and even from the day of the crime, support the assumption based on the preliminary examination that the deceased hid his illness from his employer and his professional colleagues," it said.
The captain of the Germanwings plane tried to break the locked door to the cockpit with an ax, a security source told Bild. Germanwings has confirmed that an ax was among the equipment available to its pilots.
#INFOGRAPHIC Precedents of pilots downing their planes pic.twitter.com/25gtCGysea
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 27, 2015
Lubitz had spent 18 months overall under psychiatric treatment, Bild has reported, citing anonymous sources within Lufthansa, Germanwings’ parent company. The pilot was diagnosed with a "severe depressive episode" in 2009, the German daily says. It claims it got access to Lubitz’s profile, indicating the pilot had “psychological problems” and required a "special, exemplary regular medical examination."
Bild also cites sources familiar with the investigation, saying that Lubitz suffered from a "personal life crisis," following a recent breakup with a girlfriend.
The German Aviation Association (BDL) has announced that airlines such as Lufthansa and Air Berlin intend to immediately enact the rule, according to which no pilot will be allowed to be left alone in a cockpit, Deutsche Welle reports.
Two other German airlines, Condor and TuiFly, also agreed to adopt the new rule, BDL Chief Executive Mathias von Randow told the German news agency DPA.
Airlines including Norwegian Air Shuttle, Britain's easyJet, Air Canada, and Air Berlin all announced that they are adopting a new rule requiring two crew members to always be present in the cockpit.
Germanwings' parent company, Lufthansa, was one of the few who did not rush to introduce any changes. “I don't see any need to change our procedures here,” CEO Carsten Spohr told journalists. “It was a one-off case. But we will look at it with the various experts at Lufthansa and the authorities. We shouldn't lose ourselves in short-term measures.”
Spohr’s comments triggered criticism on social media.
@RicardoLGomez@lufthansa Please sign my petition on at least 2 crew members mandatory in the cockpit in EU & Retweet http://t.co/Y1cmu3K37m
— Gabor Varadi (@varadigabor) March 26, 2015
26 March 2015
Police investigating co-pilot Andreas Lubitz’s involvement in the Germanwings plane crash have made a "significant discovery" at his residence, the Mirror reported. Officers did not specify what the discovery was, but confirmed it was not a suicide note.
In coordination with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the UK's Civil Aviation Authority has required all British airlines to ensure that two crew members are in airplane cockpits at all times.Low-cost airline EasyJet has reviewed the relevant procedures and said it would implement the new rule almost immediately.
Air Canada’s spokesman also said that the airline will now require at least two people in the cockpit at all times.
The Airbus A320's autopilot was switched to descend from its cruise altitude of 38,000 feet to its lowest possible setting of 100 feet before it went down, according to online web tracking service FlightRadar24.
"Between 09:30:52 and 09:30:55 you can see that the autopilot was manually changed from 38,000 feet to 100 feet and 9 seconds later the aircraft started to descend, probably with the 'open descent' autopilot setting," Fredrik Lindahl, chief executive of the Swedish tracking service, wrote in an email to Reuters.
French experts simulated the Germanwings Airbus 320 crash on the European Flight Simulator. However, the cockpit used was a bit different, as it was from a Boeing 737.
The Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA airline said it will promptly change flight safety regulations for crewmembers in light of the recent statement made by the French prosecutor on the Germanwings plane crash, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation reported. According to the new regulations, pilots will not be permitted to stay alone on the flight deck.
Most of the victims' relatives have arrived at the French town of Seynes-les-Alpes near the crash scene, BFM TV reported. They were met in Marseilles’ airport and transferred by buses to the town, where they were met by local authorities. At least 200 family members of the victims are expected to visit the scene. A memorial ceremony is to be held in the French town.
The death toll of German citizens in the crash has been raised to 75 people, said the German Foreign ministry spokesman.
schoolmates of co-pilot who crashed #4U9525 tell german reporters he took 6-months break from flight training in 2009 due to burnout-syndrom
— Matthias Gebauer (@gebauerspon) March 26, 2015
Police are searching the house of the deceased Germanwings co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, who is suspected of deliberately crashing the plane in southern France, Reuters reported the German public prosecutor in Dusseldorf as saying.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel responded to France’s official findings, calling the news a “terrible burden” for the victims’ relatives.
“This news touches me – as it probably will most people – and it goes beyond what we can imagine,” she said while speaking in Berlin. “The federal government and the German authorities will do their utmost to support the investigation. We owe this to all the people who lost their lives in this catastrophe on Tuesday, and to their families who are suffering so horribly.”
Marin Medic, an A320 pilot, told RT that all flight crew go through vigorous health checks to make sure they are fit for the responsibility of flying a passenger jet.
“Every person is an individual, but obviously if this is the case that the plane was flown into terrain on purpose, then obviously there was a major problem of a psychological nature with the first officer."
Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families and friends of the victims. 2/3
— Germanwings (@germanwings) March 26, 2015
We are shaken by the upsetting statements of the French authorities. 1/3
— Germanwings (@germanwings) March 26, 2015
The co-pilot accused of deliberately crashing the plane had passed all the necessary medical tests and was “100 percent” fit to fly, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr told a press conference. However, he added that pilots do not undergo regular psychological assessments beyond training.
“We have no words,” he said. “We never thought that this could happen to our concern. We are very attentive to recruitment. We pay great attention, including to the psychological characteristics of our candidates.”
"No matter your safety regulations, no matter how high you set the bar, and we have incredibly high standards, there is no way to rule out such an event," Spohr said. "This is an awful one-off event."
Andreas Lubitz had completed 630 flying hours - that's not very much in airline terms, but standard for a 1st Officer. #GermanWingsCrash
— Polly Boiko (@Polly_Boiko) March 26, 2015
The co-pilot, a German citizen, who was in sole control of the Airbus A320 after the captain left the cockpit, refused to re-open the door and pressed a button that sent the jet into its fatal descent, Reuters reported the prosecutor as saying.
The co-pilot was not known as a wanted terrorist.
The co-pilot was locked inside the cockpit, the Marseille prosecutor, Brice Robin said at a press conference. The sounds on the recovered voice recorder suggest he was alive and breathing until the moment of impact. The plane likely crashed as a result of the co-pilot’s voluntary actions, the prosecutor said.
Brice Robin, procureur de la république vient d'arriver pour la conf de presse. #crashA320pic.twitter.com/XVkeQn6jVC
— Emmanuel Lambert (@Sniktsound) March 26, 2015
Rescuers retrieved the first remains of victims from the crash site of Germanwings flight 4U 9525 on Wednesday evening, DPA news agency reported, citing French police. It is unclear how many bodies have been transported.
Lufthansa was not able to immediately confirm the New York Times report that one of the pilots was locked out of the cockpit during the crash of the Airbus A320 plane, a Lufthansa spokesman told DPA news.
One of the pilots aboard the Airbus A320 left the cockpit and could not get back in, The New York Times reported, citing voice recorder evidence.
"The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door and there is no answer," an unnamed investigator told the Times. "And then he hits the door stronger and no answer. There is never an answer...you can hear he is trying to smash the door down."
25 March 2015
Speaking to Israel’s Army Radio, Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon confirmed that one Israeli was killed in the Gerwanwings plane crash.
Watching the Germans and Australians observe a moment of silence for those who perished on the Germanwings flight. pic.twitter.com/pHAyPf7Z1N
— boozician (@boozician) March 25, 2015
The plane, which crashed in southern France, was in “perfect technical condition” with two experienced pilots, Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann said during a press conference.
Three Argentinian nationals were on board the crashed plane, according to a statement by the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
Two Mexican nationals were on board the crashed plane, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement after confirming the information with Germanwings, as well as Spanish and French officials taking part in the investigation.
The US State Department has raised the number of American victims in southern France to three people.
“Something absolutely unusual” must have happened to the Germanwings A320 that could not have been foreseen, retired Lufthansa pilot Peter Haisenko told RT.
Air traffic controllers tried to contact crewmembers of the Germanwings Flight 9525 three times, but received no response, German newspaper Bild reported, citing leaked information from French air traffic controllers.
The rapid descend of the Germanwings plane could indicate a pressurization problem, A320 pilot Marin Medic told RT.
“At this point, in any inquiry that you start right after the crash, it’s quite difficult to know what actually brought the plane down. Although there is some information that started to surface on the web that seems to indicate that the plane initially had a very high descent rate from its cruising level,” he said.
“It started descending very rapidly and very quickly in a short amount of time which could be indicative of a pressurization problem or a complete loss of pressurization in which case the pilots would attempt to get the plane down to a breathable altitude as soon as possible. But so far, it’s really all we know.”
READ MORE:A320 is ‘nanny-aircraft’ fully automated and easy to fly
French investigators have successfully extracted recordings from the cockpit voice recorder of the crashed plane, Remi Jouty, the chief of the French Air Accident Investigation Agency, the BEA, told a press conference. The extracted data “has usable sounds and voices” but it is early to draw any conclusions, he added.
"Detailed work will be carried on the file to understand and interpret the voices and sounds that can be heard on the file," Jouty said, adding that the analysis of the audio could take days.
He also denied reports that investigators had found a second black box. The French expert added that the pattern of wreckage is not consistent with a mid-air explosion.
The Airbus A320 was flying until it slammed into the mountain, Jouty said, adding that there was “no explanation for the plane's descent toward the mountains.”
He said the final communication from the plane was a routine message about permission to continue on its route and there was no indication of unfavorable weather conditions.
Altitude chart and map showing the crash of #Germanwings flight #4U9525pic.twitter.com/XX5WJx3vbi
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 25, 2015
French President Francois Hollande has denied reports that a second black box has been found, speaking at a press conference in the town of Seynes-les-Alpes. He said that only the casing has been retrieved, but its contents are still being sought.
The Spanish government has revised its count of the number of Spanish victims in the Germanwings crash up to 51, AP reported.
Germanwings cannot confirm the information that no Russian citizens were on board its crashed plane, company spokesman Andreas Engel told RIA Novosti. He added that not all the passengers’ nationalities have been established yet.
The second black box for the crashed Germanwings plane has been found but is seriously damaged, the International New York Times and CBC News reported. French investigators said the memory chip of the flight data recorder was dislodged and is missing, but they hope to retrieve voice recorder data.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy have arrived in the town of Seynes-les-Alpes, near the scene of the crash. The European leaders will pay homage to the victims and lay flowers at the crash site. They will be also briefed on the search operation and the ongoing investigation.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that there was “no concrete evidence that third parties were involved in the causes of the crash." However, he added that the investigation will look into all possible causes.
The report on the downing of MH17 above Eastern Ukraine is preliminary, and the idea is to bring any problem that might cause another accident to the attention of the authorities, former pilot and aircraft safety controller Desmond Ross told RT.
AFP reports that these are the nationalities of the A320 victims, which have been confirmed by either Germanwings or the country’s governments:
72 Germans
35 Spaniards; Spain says there may be up to 39
3 British, confirmed by the government, which says there may be more.
3 Kazakhs
2 Americans
2 Argentines
2 Australians
2 Colombians
2 Iranians
2 Japanese
2 Venezuelans
1 Belgian
1 Dane
1 Dutch
1 Israeli
1 Mexican
1 Moroccan
1 Turk
Five police officers stayed overnight at the crash site to ward off potential souvenir hunters, journalists and wolves, according to the L’Express newspaper. The authorities are worried members of the public or reporters could interfere with pieces of evidence, while two wolf packs are known to live in the vicinity and could be attracted to the bodies.
A picture of the damaged flight recorder has been released, which was sent to Paris from the crash site. The head of the French Interior Ministry says there is hope that the black box recorder may offer some insight into why the plane crashed.
FIRST PHOTO: France releases pic of damaged cockpit voice recorder of #Germanwings#4U9525http://t.co/zU6hn03xzUpic.twitter.com/GZLY6fNnDj
— RT (@RT_com) March 25, 2015
Parent company Lufthansa is preparing to fly families of the victims of the Germanwings plane crash to the French Alps, the scene of the crash. The flights are planned to depart from Dusseldorf and Barcelona on March 26 and will land in Marseille, according to the head of Lufthansa, Carsten Spohr. He added that all the company’s efforts were being channeled into helping the relatives of the crash victims.
The CEO of Germanwings has confirmed that 72 German citizens, 35 Spaniards and two Americans are among the victims of the A320 Airbus crash over the French Alps, according to AP.
Lufthansa, the company which owns the low-cost airline Germanwings, who’s plane crashed in the French Alps, say the crash was “inexplicable,” as the plane was “in perfect condition,” AFP reports.
#BREAKING Lufthansa says Alps crash still 'inexplicable', plane 'in perfect condition'
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 25, 2015
The French interior minister said it is impossible to completely rule out a terrorist attack as the cause of the Germanwings plane crash.
The British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has confirmed that at least three Britons were killed in the Germanwings A320 plane crash over the French Alps.
Lufthansa, which owns the low-cost airliner Germanwings, is to retire the flight number 9525, after the plane which crashed in the French Alps had the same code, CNN are reporting.
Helicopter patrols resumed on Wednesday morning, just before 08.00 local time, as investigators once again took to the sky’s to observe the scene of the crash of the Germanwings A320 plane. They took off from the Seyne-les-Alpes airfield, with about 30 people, mostly in uniform, boarding the helicopters, AFP reports.
LIVE NOW: #Germanwings 4U9525 search & rescue operation in French Alps http://t.co/jwiwoUc2Llhttps://t.co/S5BqBKdc9Qpic.twitter.com/R91G6RdGik
— RT (@RT_com) March 25, 2015
Air traffic controllers said they were in contact with the pilots of the Germanwings A320 aircraft just a minute before the plane started to descend, according to Segolene Royal, the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, who was speaking to the television station iTele.
The head of the French Interior Ministry has also added that the investigators are keeping an open mind into what might have caused the crash. However, a possible terrorist attack is not being considered a likely reason.
The black box in question, which was damaged and being sent to Paris, is used to record communications between the pilots and air traffic control. It also records conversations between the two pilots.
The head of the French Interior Ministry has said it is still possible the damaged black box recorder from the A320 plane could reveal some information into what caused the crash.
Sources who are close to the investigation are saying one of the black boxes recovered from the Germanwings A320 plane is damaged. It is now being sent to Paris for further analysis.
#BREAKING: French air disaster black box 'damaged', being sent to Paris: source
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 25, 2015
A search and recovery operation in a remote mountain ravine is meanwhile due to resume at first light on Wednesday. According to officials, the operation could last for days on end.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan has confirmed that there were three citizens of their country on board the plane operated by Germanwings that crashed in the southern French Alps on Tuesday. "We express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims," TASS has quoted the ministry as saying.
Germanwings was forced to cancel at least 30 flights across Europe, Bild newspaper reported, citing a Lufthansa representative. The airline only confirmed seven canceled flights, all out of Dusseldorf, and said that crews failed to show up for work for personal reasons connected to the Tuesday crash of Germanwings flight 4U9525.
"One must not forget: many of our Germanwings crews have known crew members who were onboard the crashed plane," Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said in a statement.
An unconfirmed number of British citizens were aboard Germanwings flight 4U9525, according to UK Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond.
“I don’t want to speculate on numbers of British nationals involved until we have completed our checks on all the passenger information,” Hammond said. “However, based on the information available to us, it is sadly likely that there were some British nationals on board the flight.”
Other media outlets reported that citizens from the US, Argentina, Mexico, Belgium, and Morocco were aboard the flight. It was earlier confirmed that at least 67 Germans, 45 Spaniards, and two Australians were on the plane.
24 March 2015
The flight data recorder found at the crash site of the Germanwings A320 jetliner registered talks in the pilots’ cabin, Marseille city public prosecutor Brice Robin said. However, there is still no information on what exactly it recorded, he said in an interview to BFMTV.
The former head of the German Civil Aviation Department, Professor Thilo Schmidt, says it is too early to conclude what caused the Airbus A320 crash. However, he has not ruled out the possibility of a technical problem.
“The plane was obviously in a situation when normally no dangers occur. They were on a cruising level at an altitude of some 39,000 feet, where normally nothing is going on. But shortly after having reached this cruising altitude, [the plane] went down again, and that can only happen in normal circumstances if there was some very serious technical problem,” Schmidt told RT.
The search & recovery mission in the Alps has been called off for night; it is due to resume at the first light.
One Turkish citizen, Muradiye Celik, 50, was among the passengers of the Germanwings Airbus A320, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, told journalists Tuesday, Tass reported.
Turkish authorities have not confirmed Spanish media reports that 39 German citizens of Turkish origin died in the plane crash.
Lufthansa's vice president says the Germanwings Airbus A320 crash was an accident, and that any other theory is “speculation.”
The Germanwings Airbus A320 crash was not caused by a terrorist attack, US officials said Tuesday.
"There is no indication of a nexus to terrorism at this time,” said Bernadette Meehan, spokeswoman for the National Security Council, Fox News reported. "US officials have been in touch with French, German, and Spanish authorities and have offered assistance.”
She also added that US officials were ready to help in the investigation of the tragedy. American authorities are checking if any US nationals were on board the plane.
The first raw video footage of the plane crash site has emerged:
French Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, has confirmed the finding of flight recorder from the crashed Germanwings plane, which was earlier reported by France Info radio station.
None of the passengers and crew has survived the crash in the French Alps, local police said.
“The priority task for the gendarmes, who arrived at the crash site, was to try to finding survivors of plane crash. Unfortunately, as of this moment, we have to state that there have been no survivors in the crash," David Galtier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region’s police chief, said during a press-conference.
French rescue workers have discovered a flight recorder from the Germanwings A320 jetliner, which crashed in the in the French Alps on Tuesday, local media report.
France Info radio station cites parliamentarian Christophe Castaner, who said that one of the black boxes from flight 4U 9525 has been found.
Thirty-nine of the 144 passengers who died in the Germanwings crash were Turkish, Dogan news agency reported.
It was reported that 39 people on board had Turkish surnames. However, there has not yet been any official confirmation of this information.
TRT news channel has said that the Turks, who were flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, were students residing in Germany.
The first pictures from the crash site have been published online.
BREAKING First photo of #Germanwings#4U9525 Crash site /LeDauphine pic.twitter.com/sI0698KxSnhttp://t.co/wFg8KTSve2
— AirLive.net (@airlivenet) March 24, 2015
The airplane crashed in a remote area near the town of Barcelonnette, some 100 km north of the French Riviera city of Nice.
BREAKING Photo of the crash site of #Germanwings flight #4U9525pic.twitter.com/weSlrCWxRYhttp://t.co/wFg8KTSve2
— AirLive.net (@airlivenet) March 24, 2015
Around 300 rescuers and 300 police officers, as well as 10 helicopters and airplanes have been mobilized to work at the crash site in the French Alps, said French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.
The Germanwings jetliner did not issue a distress call during its rapid descent in the French Alps, the Directorate General for Civil Aviation said.
"The aircraft did not itself make a distress call, but it was the combination of the loss of radio contact and the aircraft's descent which led the controller to implement the distress phase," a spokesman for the French aviation regulator was cited as saying by Reuters.
The “distress” phase is the third and most serious of three stages of alerts used to help coordinate rescue efforts when an aircraft is considered to be in difficulty.
Watch footage from Dusseldorf airport after 144 passengers and six crewmembers died in a plane crash in the French Alps.
Peter Haisenko, Ex-Lufthansa pilot spoke to RT about the crash.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says a helicopter managed to land near the crash site, but no survivors were found. Gilbert Sauvan, from the local council told the Les Echos newspaper that “the plane has disintegrated” He also added that the “largest debris is the size of a car,” AP report.
There is a lot of uncertainty concerning whether a distress signal was sent by the aircraft. The French Aviation Authority are now saying that the Germanwings plane did not issue a distress call.
However, air traffic controllers declared there was a distress phase, which is a situation where there is a reasonable certainty that an aircraft and its occupants are threatened by grave and imminent danger or require immediate assistance.
Germanwings has released a telephone number for the families of passengers who were on board the aircraft.
The toll-free number 0800 11 33 55 77 (900 808 890 from Spain) is available to all the families of the passengers involved for assistance.
— Germanwings (@germanwings) March 24, 2015
The Germanwings press conference was not able to shed any light on whether a distress signal was sent by the A320 Airbus before it crashed. A spokesman from the company said they had conflicting information concerning the issue from air traffic controllers.
According to reports from Germanwings, five helicopters are currently at the crash site.
UPDATE #Germanwings From reports we have, right now, 5 helicopters are on the crash site. http://t.co/wFg8KTSve2pic.twitter.com/HH5DD51DPB
— AirLive.net (@airlivenet) March 24, 2015
Germanwings say they are not aware of any complications during the descent of the aircraft. The company added that it started descending one minute after reaching its cruising height and continued to lose altitude for eight minutes, before finally crashing.
"The aircraft's contact with French radar, French air traffic controllers ended at 10.53 am at an altitude of about 6,000 feet. The plane then crashed," Germanwings' Managing Director Thomas Winkelmann said.
Germanwings have stated they believe 67 German nationals were on board the plane. The company has refused to name all the nationalities that were travelling on the aircraft. Earlier, the Deputy Spanish Prime Minister announced 45 Spaniards could be amongst the dead.
Thomas Winkelmann, a spokesman of Germanwings management board, also added that the pilot who was flying the aircraft had more than 6,000 hours experience flying the A320 aicraft.
Germanwings are currently giving a press conference at the Cologne Bonn airport. They said that the captain had been flying with Germanwings and Lufthansa for 10 years.
The Barcelona based La Vanguardia newspaper has said there were 16 German teenagers on board the plane, as well as two teachers. The group was returning from an exchange trip and they were enrolled at the Jospeh-Konig Gymnasium in Haltern am See, which is a town not far from Dusseldorf.
There are now conflicting reports concerning whether the Germanwings plane sent a distress signal. According to an aviation official, who spoke to AF, no signal was sent by the aircraft. At 09.53 GMT, the plane lost control and fell 6,000 feet.
Marin Medic, a pilot who has flown extensively on the same Airbus, talks about depressurization as the likely cause of the rapid descent of the plane, and also says that the A320 is one of the easiest to handle for pilots, with its wealth of electronic aids. Medic also cautions against drawing premature conclusions based on indirect data.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called the Germanwings plane crash a “shock,” which has plunged Germany, France and Spain into “deep mourning.” Merkel had already announced her intention to travel to the site on Wednesday.
"I will travel there tomorrow to get my own impression and to speak with local officials," the chancellor told reporters.
BREAKING: Angela Merkel conveys sorrow for flight #4U9525 crash, will visit site of tragedy tomorrow http://t.co/yWb05WulIQ
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) March 24, 2015
The Spanish media is reporting that a group of 20 German schoolchildren who were on an exchange trip are amongst the dead.
Rescue teams are preparing to try and reach the site where the plane went down. According to locals in the area, the search and rescue teams will have a tough job as the site is very inaccessible in winter and early spring.
“In summer you can reach it on foot but in the winter you generally stop before getting there,” said a resident of Meolans Revel, who spoke to AFP from a village on the otherside of the mountain from the crash site.
Rescue teams near #4U9525 crash site http://t.co/zU6hn03xzU (pics via @ActuSecours) #Germanwingspic.twitter.com/IDeO1SpaM4
— RT (@RT_com) March 24, 2015
The A320 plane is known as the ‘workhorse’ within the aviation industry.
It is a single-aisle narrow body jet and is used for short and medium haul flights.
As of November 2014, a total of 11,163 planes had been ordered, with 6.331 delivered. The aircraft’s first flight was on 1987.
The Germanwings plane, which crashed in the French Alps had been in service since 1991.
German chancellor Angela Merkel says she will try and visit the crash site tomorrow. The German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt and a number of air safety experts are already on their way.
Just to re-cap a few of the details from the Germanwings plane crash.
Germanwings have confirmed 150 people were on board the flight, which included 144 passengers, two pilots and four crew.
The aircraft, which took off from Barcelona airport and was heading towards Dusseldorf, issued a distress signal at 09.47.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to German Chancellor Angela Merkel following the crash of the Germanwings Airbus A320 plane. German citizens are believed to have made up the majority of the passengers on the jet.
The aviation website AirLive has produced a graphic showing how the A320 Airbus descended as it approached the French Alps en route to Dusseldorf.
UPDATE #Germanwings CRASH Here is the 3D flight path from FlightAware http://t.co/wFg8KTSve2pic.twitter.com/D4eu3XlDy2
— AirLive.net (@airlivenet) March 24, 2015
The owner of a camp site in the French Alps near the scene of the crash says he heard a series of loud noises coming from the air before the Germanwings A320 Airbus crashed. Pierre Polizzi told AP the noise began at 11:30 local time.
"There are often fighter jets flying over, so I thought it sounded just like that. I looked outside but I couldn't see any fighter planes."
"The noise I heard was long - like 8 seconds - as if the plane was going more slowly than a military plane speed. There was another long noise about 30 seconds later."
Polizzi said it would be difficult to get to the site of the crash. "The mountain is snowy and very hostile."
The managing director of Germanwings, Oliver Wagner said he was unable to shed any light onto what may have caused the plane crash. However, he added that the company, which is a subsidiary of Lufthansa, will do everything to find out what happened.
"Our deep sympathy goes out to the relatives and friends of the victims," Wagner said.
French President Francois Hollande says he does not believe that there were any French nationals on the plane, though he has said that he can’t say this with one hundred percent certainty.
Meanwhile, King Filipe VI of Spain, who was on a state visit to France, says he will return home following the tragedy.
This a picture taken from a helicopter near the crash site, where the Germanwings plane went down.
BREAKING #GermanWings Here is a photo from helicopter of the crash area /France2 journalists http://t.co/wFg8KTSve2pic.twitter.com/RnC5gT5w40
— AirLive.net (@airlivenet) March 24, 2015
The terrain is very inaccesiable and it is likely to make any resuce or salvage mission exteremly difficult.
The King Felipe VI of Spain, who is in France on a state visit, said there were no signs of survivors following the Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps.
"We know it was in an area where access is extremely difficult and that the search will be complicated," he said.
About 45 minutes ago, The Spanish Deputy Prime Minister said 45 passengers on the plane which took off from Barcelona and was en route to Dusseldorf in the north west of Germany are believed to be Spanish.
Germanwings has confirmed that 150 people were on board the plane, which included 144 passengers and six crew.
#BREAKING Germanwings says 144 passengers and 6 crew on crashed plane
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 24, 2015
The German government said it will also send air safety experts to the scene of the crash. It had earlier been announced that the country’s Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt would be travelling to the south of France.
"In these difficult hours our thoughts are with all those who must fear their relatives are among the passengers or crew members," said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
German television announced earlier that Chancellor Angela Merkel will give a statement regarding the crash later today.
Germanwings has changed the color of its logo, which is normally red and yellow in wake of the tragedy.
#Germanwings changes profile picture http://t.co/zU6hn03xzU#4U9525pic.twitter.com/u33ihmP83E
— RT (@RT_com) March 24, 2015
Desmond Ross, who is a former pilot and aircraft safety controller told RT that any number of things could have caused the crash.
This is a more detailed map of where the crash took place in the French Alps. The plane is believed to have come down at a height of around 2000 meters above sea level.
#Germanwings#4U9525 crash & response sites & LIVE UPDATES & reactions http://t.co/zU6hn03xzUpic.twitter.com/eJied1gWxq
— RT (@RT_com) March 24, 2015
France's leading air traffic controller union, the SNCTA has called off a strike planned from Wednesday to Friday.
"We are suspending our planned strike as a result of the emotions created in the control rooms by the crash, particularly in Aix-en-Provence," the union's spokesperson Roger Rousseau told AFP.
Just to recap some earlier information, the Germanwings A320 Airbus issued a distress signal at 09.47 GMT, which was about 52 minutes after taking off from Barcelona Airport.
The plane crashed near the French town of Barcelonnette, which is about 100 kilometers north of Nice and located in the French Alps.
The Germanwings aircraft was 24 years old and had been with the parent Lufthansa group since 1991.
The Spanish Prime Minster, Mariano Rajoy is set to make a statement following the plane crash. Click on the link to hear what he has to say.
Germanwings, which is part of the Lufthansa group says they will hold a press conference at Cologne Bonn Airport at 15.00 local time, which is in just under two hours time.
The Spanish Deputy Prime Minister says 45 passengers on the Germanwings plane, which crashed in the south of France are believed to be Spanish. However, the majority of those on board are belived to be German, according to French television station RTL.
Chris Yates, an aviation expert, who spoke to RT, says the mountainous landscape is unlikely to have caused the crash. So far the he says it is not clear what caused the plane to come down and is hopeful that the black boxes can reveal more.
German television is reporting that Angela Merkel has spoken with Francois Hollande by telephone and that the German Chancellor will release an official statement later today.
French President Francois Hollande has expressed his sympathy to German Chancellor Angela Merkel following the plane crash.
#BREAKING Hollande expresses sympathy to Merkel over Airbus crash: French presidency
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 24, 2015
We are still getting conflicting reports about the death toll. President Hollande had said 148 people had lost their lives, while the German Civil Aviation Service says that 154 people have died.
The German Transport Minister is on his way to the crash site of the Germanwings plane in France, according to the German Transport Ministry.
The French Transport Minister says there are no survivors from the A320 Airbus crash in the south of France. Minutes ago, the German Civil Aviation Service said 154 people had died.
This chart shows the positions and altitude of flight 4U9525, which took off from Barcelona and was en-route to the German city of Dusseldorf, before it crashed in the French Alps, about 100 kilometers north of Nice.
Full csv file with positions and altitude of flight #4U9525http://t.co/KQ2hmCTkEXpic.twitter.com/VoJPHRYR29
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 24, 2015
The German Civil Aviation Service says that 154 people have died in the Germanwings plane crash in the south of France. These figures could change. The French Civil Aviation Service stated around 20 minutes ago that 150 people had died.
Local police sources in France say that debris from the Germanwings A320 plane has been spotted at altitude 2000 meters.
Lufthansa has also sent a tweet, saying they hope survivors will be found.
"...on 4U 9525. If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors.“ Carsten Spohr 2/2
— Lufthansa (@lufthansa) March 24, 2015
French President Francois Hollande has tweeted his reaction to the crash.
“I want to express my solidarity to the families of the victims of the plane crash. This is a tragedy.”
Je veux exprimer aux familles des victimes de cet accident aérien toute ma solidarité. C'est un deuil, une tragédie.
— François Hollande (@fhollande) March 24, 2015
The Germanwings plane took off from Barcelona airport at 08.55 GMT, a spokesman for Spain’s airport operator said. However, the spokeswoman would not give any additional details concerning the plane or who may have been on board, Reuters reports.
Germanwings have not confirmed any information yet and advising people to monitor their website.
#4U9525 crash Reports debris spotted by aerial reconnaissance. Hollande: no survivors expected http://t.co/zU6hn03xzUpic.twitter.com/Ih84txh1gQ
— RT (@RT_com) March 24, 2015
Radar lost contact with plane at 09.39, while the A320 Airbus sent out an distress signal at 09.47.
This gives a better idea of where Flight 4U9525 crashed, which was on its way from Barcelona to the German city of Dusseldorf.
Last position of Germanwings flight #4U9525 at 09:40 UTC http://t.co/FHoX6q0GHtpic.twitter.com/72pxGKolRM
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 24, 2015
The small commune of Barcelonnette, is located in the French Alps, not far from the Italian border. It is not known how many people have perished, but the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says the number is likely to be between 142 and 150.
The crash has taken place near the small town of Barcelonnette, a commune in Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. It is around 100 kilometers north of the city of Nice
#A320 CRASH: Airbus crashes in area of #Digne, S. France - reports http://t.co/XTMaa9mAV2pic.twitter.com/CgJH5KE29K
— RT (@RT_com) March 24, 2015
The French PM Manuel Valls has said that he has activated a ministerial crisis to help coordinate efforts in the aftermath of the crash. He said he has dispatched the Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to the scene of the crash.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says that between 142 and 150 people have died in the Germanwings plane crash. He said that it is not known what caused the crash.
"We of course don't know the reasons for the crash," Valls said, according to Reuters. "We obviously fear that the 142 to 150 passengers and crew died today, given the conditions of this crash."
This is the flight path that the plane took, before it crashed in the south of France.
Germanwings flight #4U9525 (registration D-AIPX) was lost from Flightradar24 at 6800 feet at 09.39 UTC time. pic.twitter.com/vZaQMUlLaZ
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 24, 2015
The French Civil Aviation Authority has confirmed that 150 people were on board the plane, which includes 142 passengers and eight crew members. The Germanwings plane was bound for Dusseldorf after taking off from Barcelona.
French local sources are saying that 148 passengers were on board the plane, which includes six crew members.
A Germanwings A320 Airbus plane has crashed in France. The airplane was headed from Barcelona to the Germany city to Dusseldorf.