Crash Germanwings Flight 4U 9525
Tuesday, March 23, 2015
LIVE BLOG
Germanwings has disclosed that the Airbus A320 lost over the French Alps today initiated its descent about 1min after reaching its cruising altitude.
Germanwings A320 left cruising altitude after 1 min
BY MICHAEL BUBISCH
LONDON
Germanwings has disclosed that the Airbus A320 lost over the French Alps today initiated its descent about 1min after reaching its cruising altitude.
The aircraft – en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf– had departed the Spanish city’s El Prat airport at 10:01 local time. It reached its regular cruising altitude of 38,000ft at 10:45, but left that altitude around 1min later as it approached the French coast, said Germanwings chief executive Thomas Winkelmann at a press conference in Cologne today.
He says the descent lasted around 8min before radar contact was lost at an altitude of approximately 6,000ft, above mountainous terrain in the French Alps.
The flightcrew had not requested clearance to leave the cruising altitude.
It has not been confirmed whether or not the crew issued an emergency call. Germanwings chief pilot Stefan Kenan-Scheib says the airline has been given conflicting reports by French radar stations about an emergency call from the aircraft. The conflict had not been resolved by the time of the press conference.
The aircraft had undergone a regular line check at Dusseldorf yesterday. Its last C-check was conducted in accordance with the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule in summer 2013, says Winkelmann.
Kenan-Scheib says the aircraft’s computers had been upgraded to the latest software standard.
A report from news agency The Associated Press quotes French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve as saying that a black box has been located at the crash site.
§ § §
@GerryS @9VSKA This is CFIT. Many poss causes; FMC data input error, multi-pilot incapacitation due decompression, deliberate #patience
— Peter Evans (@trustaviation) March 24, 2015
If #4U9525 was a mid-air breakup, we should see some very large pieces.
— Gerry Soejatman (@GerryS) March 24, 2015
RT @skymarkwhite: Germanwings spokesman confirms downed Airbus A320 underwent routine maintenance check yesterday”
— Jonny Hallam (@Jonny_Hallam) March 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/KeithWalkerNews/status/580342635702910976
Background to Germanwings A320 accident
BY DAVID LEARMONT
SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM
Based on the few facts known about the Germanwings Airbus A320 crash, it is a highly unusual event. For a modern short-haul airliner to develop – in the cruise phase of flight – problems the crew cannot deal with is almost unheard of.
According to unofficial data from a flight-tracking service, the aircraft took off for its scheduled flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf in good weather just after 10:00 local time, took about 20min climbing to a cruise height of 38,000ft, where it levelled out for just 3 to 4min.
And then entered a steady descent profile without altering its ground speed to any significant extent from the 420-450kt (780-830km/h) adopted in the cruise. It was not a dramatic descen. But was very steady all the way to impact. It also appears to have crashed quite close to its flight-planned track, so there was no sudden veer off course.
Germanwings A320 crash site
Rex Features
In the press conference given by the Lufthansa Group, a technical spokesman would not confirm whether there was an emergency call, saying there was conflicting evidence. So either there was no message, or – if there was some kind of attempt by the crew to communicate with air traffic control – the message was not clear.
Failure to inform ATC about an emergency usually means the crew are too busy dealing with a problem, but there is no evidence as to what that might have been.
In April last year, during a period of intense speculation about the disappearance of Malaysia flight MH370, Flightglobal published this information: “Including MH370, Ascend Online shows that a total of 46 Western-built jet airliners have crashed with the loss of all on board while in the en-route phase.
Of these, 13 were caused by sabotage, two more by hijacks and one was shot down. Three more were caused by undetermined causes where flightcrew suicide is suspected.”
§ § §
#4U9525 Vertical speed from higher res. data suggests the descent profile was not smooth. But heading ~constant. pic.twitter.com/CWUbORFemJ
— Mike Exner (@Airlandseaman) March 24, 2015
Mike Exner#4U9525 Vertical speed from higher res. data suggests the descent profile was not smooth. But heading ~constant.
-
@Airlandseaman Ignore the spikes in the data <09:34. Due to noise in receivers. -
@Airlandseaman would these type of changing vertical speed done by auto pilot? adjusting angle of attack? Pilots saw mountains too late… -
@moveitsoph The decent profile is not consistent with normal AP control, or normal manual control. -
@Airlandseaman Data in that file logged from 47 different receivers, I filtered out all but 1948 & 1418. -
@GuardedDon@Airlandseaman Using Don’s ADS-B data, altitude data is noisy, but descent was steady til end.#4U9525 pic.twitter.com/5zP4rf101u -
@RadiantPhysics@GuardedDon Descent “steady” if averaged, but sec by sec, many changes from -2000 to -5500 ft/min. pic.twitter.com/PqLmQuguHw -
@Airlandseaman@GuardedDon So the question is whether there was an anomaly with the sensor or the VSPEED was really that erratic. -
@RadiantPhysics@Airlandseaman@GuardedDon either control issues or someone tried to overcome the overspeed protection.#speculation
Sophia 
Don Thompson 
Victor Iannello 
Gerry Soejatman § § §
Airframe Details For Germanwings Flight 4U 9525
BY Brian Bostick in Things With Wings
The Airbus A320 involved in today’s accident in France was D-AIPX, an A320-211 with serial no. 147.
Powered by CFM56-5A1 engines, the aircraft was ordered by Lufthansa on November 22, 1988 according to Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s fleet database. It first flew on November 29, 1990, and was delivered to Lufthansa on February 5, 1991.
Germanwings leased the aircraft from Lufthansa on January 12, 2014. The airframe had logged approximately 58,300 hours and 46,700 flights according to Airbus. It is the 28th hull loss for the A320 since it first entered service in 1988.
Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s fleet database shows that D-AIPX was the 48th oldest A320 in revenue service at the time of the accident.
Nearly 6,500 Airbus A320 family aircraft have been delivered with approximately 6,230 still in service or in temporary storage.
What is known:
- Accident: Germanwings 4U9525 crashed in the French Alps near Prads-Haute-Bléone en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf – 24 March 2015
- Aircraft: Germanwings Airbus A320; MSN147, D-AIPX. Delivered to Lufthansa in 1991. 24 years old. 58,300 hr and 46,700 cycles. Powered by two CFM56-5A1 turbofan engines. Germanwings is a low-fare arm of Lufthansa. Source: Airbus
- More airframe information is available in this blog from Aviation Week Intelligence Network’s fleets team
- Captain: 6,000 hr. flight time. Airline pilot for 10 years. Source: Germanwings press conference
- Takeoff: 10:00 am local time in Barcelona (GMT+1). Source: Flightradar24.com, FlightAware.com
- Route: Barcelona to Dusseldorf – 144 passengers and six crew. Same route flown by 4U9525 (D-AIQP) the previous day. Graphic by Flightradar24.com
- Reached cruise altitude of FL380 (approximately 38,000 ft.) roughly 27 minutes after takeoff at 10:27 am local time. Cruise ground speed of 476 kt., similar to previous day’s flight. Source: Flightradar24.com
- Began a descent from cruise altitude without clearance and with no communications from the crew to air traffic control at approximately 10:31 am local time. Transponder code throughout the flight remained on the initial assigned code of 5512 (the emergency code is 7700). Source: Germanwings press conference, Flightradar24.com, FlightAware.com
- Descent continued relatively straight ahead for approximately 9 minutes at vertical descent rates from 2,000 – 5,000 feet per minute. Ground speed varied between 490 kt. and 378 kt. at time of last ADS-B signal received. Source: Flightradar.com
- Last position picked up by a Flightradar24 ground ADS-B receiver at approximately 10:40 am local and 6,800 ft. altitude, either due to crash or loss of signal at the receiver site. Source: Flightradar.com
- Lufthansa’s last fatal accident involved another one of its Airbus A320s registered as D-AIPN. The aircraft overshot the runway upon landing at Warsaw’s Chopin International Airport on September 14, 1993. Two people on board died.
What is not known:
- Why the crew descended from cruise altitude with no radio contact and no change to transponder code
§ § §
They found a black box #GermanWingsCrash don't know if it had two or a joint one
— Richard Westcott (@BBCwestcott) March 24, 2015
@BBCwestcott should be 2 in an airframe of that age
— Mike Mulroy (@MulroyMike) March 24, 2015
.@BBCwestcott If it's always necessary to explain that 'black boxes' [plural] r actually ORANGE might it be an idea to call them FDR & CVR?
— Don Thompson (@GuardedDon) March 24, 2015
Perilous rescue mission
BY JADE GRANDLIN DE EPREVIER
SOURCE: La périlleuse mission des secours
TRANSLATION: MillennialMonitor.com
How will emergency crews reach the Germanwings crash site – in a location renowned inaccessible?
The crash zone of the Airbus A320 Germanwings is deemed inaccessible. Specialized rescue teams should rappel down to secure the area, an operation that can be dangerous.
The Airbus A320 crashed at 1500 m altitude in the Valley of the White on one side of the mountain of the Three Bishoprics opposite the ski area of Val d’Allos.
A very steep face.
“This is a very mountainous region, very snowy wilderness site oscillating between 2,000 and 3,000 meters,” do we representative in a town hall.
An owner of B & B in the municipality of Méloans said: “You have from my home, a half-hour drive and five-hour walk to reach it. Few people have heard something because it is an uninhabited area. It is very isolated. “
“It is only accessible by air,” said AFP Lieutenant Colonel gendarmerie in Seyne John Paul BLOIN. “There are very few roads, it is very complicated to move on foot.”
Relief will have to take the air. A helicopter was chartered. Firefighters, police and medical teams should have the support of the army and air forces. The specialized gendarmes in air accidents Velizy-Villacoublay search section were to arrive on the area in the afternoon, AFP reported.
While the authorities confirm that there are no survivors, rescue mission on site will delineate the crash zone and secure.
“It can take several hours,” says PGHM of Briançon. The area would be one to two acres. Relief aid must stabilize the debris because if they drop, they could hurt teams. A task made more complex that “progress is needed between the debris without really touching, to avoid penalizing the subsequent work of the investigators.”
Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Paul BLOIN agrees: “there is a lot of scattered debris, it will be extremely difficult to meet the elements and operate. The area is very backward, sidehill. ” There could be “some large debris, perhaps half a dozen.”
Un avion de la compagine Germanwings. PHOTO: Sasha Schuermann / AFP
What we know of the crash of the A320 at the end of day
BY WILLIAM PLUMBER / AFP / REUTERS /AP
SOURCE: Ce que nous savons du crash de l’A320 en cette fin de journée
TRANSLATION: MillennialMonitor.com
Après le crash ce mardi matin dans les Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, les premiers éléments émergent : une boîte noire a été retrouvée, la chute de l’avion a duré 8 minutes et aucune hypothèse n’est pour l’heure écartée.
After the crash Tuesday morning in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the first elements emerge: a black box has been found.
The plane crash lasted 8 minutes and no assumption is for the time ruled out.
• The Airbus A320 (flight 4U9525) disappeared from radar around 11:20 Tuesday morning when he was flying over the massive “three bishoprics” in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. It is a plane of Germanwings company, which was on route Barcelona-Düsseldorf.
One hundred and forty-four passengers were on board and six crew members. The plane took off “at Barcelona 10:35 until reaching an altitude of 38,000 feet.
But then he began to lose altitude, for 8 minutes. “The contact was lost at 10:53, while the aircraft was at a height of 6,000 feet (less than 2000 meters). “Then it crashed,” said Tuesday afternoon the head of Germanwings.
• “The crew did not issue a distress call. This is the air traffic control that has decided to declare the aircraft in distress because he had no contact with the crew and the aircraft, “said the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.
The captain had yet more than 10 years of experience and more than 6,000 flying hours. The weather conditions were very quiet at the time of the crash.But the unit had previously gone through a volatile area in the Mediterranean.”
At this stage, no assumption of course can not be ruled out, “said Manuel Valls before the National Assembly.
• A black box was found in the late afternoon. It has yet not been examined but all hopes rest on it to reveal what caused the tragedy. It will be transmitted to investigative services.
The Investigation and Analysis Bureau, responsible for technical investigations during aircraft accidents, opened an investigation.
• “The conditions of the accident suggests that there would be no survivors,” said shortly after the announcement of the crash in the late morning Francois Hollande. Information confirmed later by Alain Vidal, Secretary of State for Transport.
On-site during the afternoon, the Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve said there was little hope of finding survivors.
Forty-five passengers of Spanish nationality, according to the government of Mariano Rajoy. The other would be Turkish and German nationality.
• The aircraft debris were found in the massive “three bishoprics” in a horseshoe area between the towns of Seyne-les-Alpes, Meolans Revel and Foux d’Allos.
This is a very isolated mountainous, snow at this time of the year, which oscillates between 2000 and 3000 meters. This area is inaccessible for land vehicles.
According to France 3 Côte d’Azur, specialized gendarmes in mountain rescue left on foot at the scene of the crash. Many helicopters have also been dispatched.
“The debris is scattered over an area of about one hectare, very difficult to access,” said Lt. Col. Bloy, gendarmerie Hyères in the Var, the site Haute-Provence Info. “There are a dozen large debris, the rest is very fragmented,” he added.
The evacuation of the bodies could take several days. Weather conditions and at night should complicate research. Snowfall is expected in the coming hours from 2000 meters.
§ § §
Le Figaro: The location where crashed Tuesday an Airbus A320 of the German airline Germanwings in thein the Valley of the White between Digne and Barcelonnette (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence)
The plane crashed at 1500 m altitude, under the head of the massif of Estrop in the valley of the White, far from any village.
A chapel was installed in Seyne-les-Alpes, a neighboring town. September helicopters, two Puma gendarmerie and five Dragon civil security were dispatched to the area of the accident, where an air coordinator was set up to coordinate airborne means.
§ § §
Geen noodsignaal gestuurd : No distress signal sent
Contrary to what the French Secretary of State for Transport, Alain Vida Lies, said earlier today, there is not a distress signal sent from the plane. Reported that the Civil Aviation Authority told AFP.
“There is no mayday sent from the plane,” said a spokesman. “The air traffic control has only considered that the plane was in danger when there was no contact with the device.”
No evidence of terrorism
“There is no evidence of terrorism.” That says a spokesman for Lufthansa at Düsseldorf Airport.
Helikopters van de Franse luchtmacht reizen af naar de rampplek.© AFP
Crash German Wings : la zone du crash dans le massif des trois évêchés
https://youtu.be/fw2SfxfP-UQ
Time-lapse video showing air traffic over Europe – Flightradar24
Photos show emergency services in French Alps via BBC
Crash GermanWings : les secours au Vernet
https://youtu.be/cpsbnYFsgU4
Flight #4U9525 was descending with a rate of about 3000-4000 feet per minute, which is quite standard for an airport approach.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 24, 2015
https://twitter.com/TheFlyingEnggnr/status/580326007510450176
Our last position reports of the Germanwings plane shows a very rapid descent pic.twitter.com/OhJAEeyVoK
— Plane Finder (@planefinder) March 24, 2015
Now some confusion over whether there was a distress call #4U9525
— Richard Westcott (@BBCwestcott) March 24, 2015
Flight #4U9525 was descending with a rate of about 3000-4000 feet per minute, which is quite standard for an airport approach.
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 24, 2015
French Air Force Boeing C-135FR Stratotanker flying over #4U9525 crash site http://t.co/Hv3kJZ28a9 pic.twitter.com/EQl9ysUiXN
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 24, 2015
I'm getting this last lot of data..anyone concur? pic.twitter.com/MWMZHomCyS
— Richard Westcott (@BBCwestcott) March 24, 2015
Aircraft last checked yesterday #Germanwings
— Richard Westcott (@BBCwestcott) March 24, 2015
VIDEO REPORT Bild
Is known: Rapidly, the altitude decreased 11 000 to just 2000 meters – at this level also difficult to reach the crash site in the mountains. Debris and bodies were sighted from helicopters. The walk in the snowy area takes for rescue teams probably two to three hours.
Families reach the Foreign Office on telephone number 030 5000 3000 The airport Dusseldorf has switched a hotline. 0800 776 6350 The hotline of the airline is under.0800 1133 5577 reachable.
Bekannt ist: Innerhalb kürzester Zeit verringerte sich die Flughöhe von 11 000 auf nur noch 2000 Meter – in dieser Höhe befindet sich auch die schwer zugängliche Absturzstelle in den Bergen. Trümmer und Leichen wurden von Hubschraubern aus gesichtet. Der Fußmarsch in das verschneite Gebiet dauert für die Rettungskräfte wohl zwei bis drei Stunden.
Krisen-Hotline eingerichtet
Angehörige erreichen das Auswärtige Amt unter der Telefonnummer 030 5000 3000. Auch der Flughafen Düsseldorf hat eine Hotline geschaltet: 0800 776 6350. Die Hotline der Fluglinie ist unter 0800 1133 5577 erreichbar.
@flightradar24 @BBCwestcott FR24 data very dirty but this aircraft calmly descended from cruise into a mountainside pic.twitter.com/U6KuSqLrTu
— Don Thompson (@GuardedDon) March 24, 2015
03/24/2015 – 13: 46h The Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, has made a statement from Vitoria to report the tragic crash of the Airbus happened Tuesday in the Alps. Rajoy said that since the government has created a “crisis cabinet” by more than 42 Spanish victims aboard the apparatus. The president has also reported that it has suspended its agenda and that the Minister of Public Works has already left for Marseille to follow the situation in situ. (ATLAS)
Ver video en: 20minutes.tv
§ § §
Accidente de un avión Airbus A320 en Francia que realizaba el trayecto entre Barcelona y Düsseldorf
Actualizado 24/03/2015 14:02
An Airbus A320 crashed near Prads-Haute-Bléone, between the towns of Digne-les-Bains and Barcelonette in the Alps of France, south of the country.
The unit belonged to the company Germanwings (subsidiary of Lufthansa) and carried 142 passengers, six crew members and two babies. Performed the journey between Barcelona (Spain) and Düsseldorf (Germany), hence the appliance traveling a large number of Germans, but also Spanish, as confirmed by Aena. Specifically, the plane had 45 passengers Spanish surname.
The incident was confirmed in Frankfurt by the German authorities on aviation security and the French president himself, François Hollande, who has announced that the occupants of the crashed plane have died. “The conditions of the accident suggest that no survivors,” the French president has ruled.
According to Rosalia Sanchez from Berlin, Barcelona Airbus took off at 10.00 hours and 10.41 hours issued an emergency call to the control tower de Haute Provence. It was about 5,000 feet. In the call, he warned “an abnormal situation.” Soon after, he disappeared from radar. Two helicopters from the Directorate-General of Traffic went looking and are confirming that the plane crashed, immediately sending several rescue teams to the area.
The French Interior Ministry reported meanwhile that “the weather was not particularly bad,” and that the wreckage were located exactly at 2,000 meters, in an area inaccessible. Along with wreckage, have displayed several bodies.
He has also stated that “the weather was not particularly bad” at the time of the accident.
§ § §
Accident in Alps of Airbus flying from Barcelona to Dusseldorf
An aircraft of the German company Germanwings performing the route between Barcelona and Düsseldorf has crashed Tuesday in the French Alps. The flight left at 9.55 am from El Prat airport flight number GW9525, as confirmed by Aena.
Although initial reports pointed to 148 victims, as indicated by the company on Twitter account , the plane was traveling with 144 passengers and six crew (two pilots and four assistants cabs), ie, a total of 150 people, including two babies. According to the passenger list provided by the company, 45 of the people aboard the stricken apparatus have Spanish surnames, but for now, it is unknown if they all have embarked. According to the French Foreign Ministry, the aircraft is one of the oldest aircraft company.
The accident coincides with the planned visit of the Kings of France, which has been suspended.
The specialized web Flightradar24 lost the signal 10:39 flight at an altitude of 6,800 feet (about 2,000 meters) in an area where the peaks reach up to 3,000 meters. In addition, the site reports that the aircraft carrying the registration D-AIPX, was built in 1990 and entered service in 1991. Prior to joining Germanwings fleet had flown with Lufthansa colors.
According to several German media, the plane from 30,000 (9000 meters) to 6,900 feet (1800 meters) in just nine minutes. The French Secretary of State for Transport, Alain Vidal, said that the plane gave a distress signal at 10.47.
The Deputy Mayor of Prads-Haute-Bléone, the commune (district) where the accident occurred, Alain Ciardet, has told El Pais how the plane has crashed into a Estrop massif, located 2981 meters. “The problem is there are no roads and the emergency services can only be reached by helicopter,” he explained.”A platoon Gendarmerie high mountains, formed by about 10 people, is coming overland to the area,” he added.
One of the problems you can face the rescuers is light as the sun sets in this area, around 18.30.
According to France Info, the French public channel information, the accident occurred exactly at Val d’Allos, one ski area where there are trails only, so only accessible by helicopter.
Rajoy himself has informed during an appearance in Vitoria that had a conversation with the German president, Angel Merkel, this “sad and tragic accident”. The Prime Minister has said that the news still are “preliminary” but added that all indications are that this is a “serious accident, very sad and dramatic loss of many human lives.”
He also informed Pedro Sánchez, PSOE leader and held a conversation with the King, which is visiting in Paris-president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Artur Mas. Rajoy has detailed the Minister of Development, Ana Pastor, traveling to Marseille and then go to the crash site. “We will do everything in our power to help families”.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it has activated the Consular Emergency Unit, which is coordinating the activities of the consulates of Marseille and Dusseldorf, the nearest to the scene to assist victims and their families.
The aircraft is is an Airbus 320 . According to information obtained by Europe 1, two helicopters from the Gendarmerie have confirmed to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have located the device near Prads-Haute-Bléone between Digne-les-Bains and Barcelonnette.
The French government, through its Interior spokesman, confirmed minutes before noon the air disaster. Soon after, the French President François Hollande expressed his condolences and though assured that no data yet on the causes and circumstances of the accident, has said it is possible that no survivor. As he explained, for the moment, “we do not know the identity of the victims,” although “there are probably many German victims.”
France has set up a crisis. The Spanish Government has also decided to set up a special office to deal with the disaster, according to sources Interior. In El Prat Airport, is arranged a room to meet relatives of the victims.
The commissioner of transportation, Violeta Bulc, confirmed at noon the “fatal” news of the plane crash south of France. Although he admitted not have more information beyond “what is being published in the media,” Bulc wanted to convey a message of support to the families of the passengers. “Our thoughts are with those who traveled on the plane and their families,” he concluded.
The French Interior Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, will move to where the plane crashed Germanwings performed the journey between Barcelona and the German city of Dusseldorf, as reported by the French government.
The A320 has a maximum capacity of 150 passengers. The company, based in Cologne, advertises this flight online with a price from 39.90 euros.
The airline has not enabled any specific emergency phone family or media.
Emergency telephone enabled
012. Is the phone in which the Government will respond to calls from relatives of passengers to call for information. According to reported the Catalan government, calls to the families of the passengers from daytime emergency telephone number 112 012 will be derived, which is centralizing information and attention after the plane crash.
90240012 – For outside Catalonia. Phone has enabled the Government, according to his Twitter account, for those families who have to learn from outside Catalonia.
. 913948900 – Emergency Consular also serves on email:[email protected] , has informed the Embassy of Spain in Germany on his official Twitter account.
0049 30 5000 3000 -. Germany Phone facilitated by the German Foreign Ministry.
Germanwings flight from Barcelona crashes in French Alps
French president has confirmed that there were at least 42 Spaniards on board
Reports suggest that none of the 148 people on board the plane have survived
The flight was bound for Düsseldorf, and disappeared off radars around 11am
A file photo of a Germanwings Airbus 320, similar to the one that crashed in the Alps on Tuesday morning. / FRANK AUGSTEIN (AP)
French President François Hollande has confirmed that there were 42 Spaniards on board, while sources from the Spanish deputy prime minister’s office have said that 45 of the passengers have Spanish surnames.
The Airbus A320 aircraft, flight number GWI9525, took off from El Prat at 9.35am on Tuesday, but disappeared off radars around 11am and crashed down near Barcelonnette, in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, according to French media outlets.
The French transport secretary, Alain Vidal, said on Tuesday that the plane sent out a mayday signal at 10.47am. According to public news channel France Info, the plane crashed in Val d’Allos, an area with ski runs that are only accessible via trails, meaning that helicopters will be needed to access the site.
French civil aviation authorities confirmed that two helicopters have seen the remains of the aircraft near the municipality of Prads-Haute-Bléone, between Digne-les-Bains and Barcelonnette.
The same sources said that Flight GWI9525 had 142 passengers on board and six crew members – two pilots and four flight attendants. The airline has not yet made any comment on the accident, and at around 12pm sent a message via Twitter saying that it had no “own confirmed information” about the crash, saying that people should check their website for updates. The website, however, was inaccessible by 12.30pm.
The French chief of transportation, Violeta Bulc, however, has confirmed the news regarding the accident in southern France. In a noon appearance, she admitted she had no more information about it than “what is being published in the media.”
“Our thoughts are with the people who were traveling on the plane and with their relatives,” she said.
President Hollande also made a statement on Tuesday morning, saying: “We are not expecting survivors from the air accident.”
French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve will travel to the crash site later today, the government said.
The French Foreign Ministry also confirmed on Tuesday that the A320 that has crashed was one of the oldest planes from the company’s fleet. Meanwhile, AP reported that France’s Interior Ministry had confirmed that debris had been located at an altitude of 2,000 meters.
The specialized website Flightradar24 lost track of the aircraft at 10.39am at an altitude of 6,800 feet (around 2,000 meters).
The Cologne-based company, which is owned by Lufthansa, offers flights between Spain and Germany starting from €39.90.
Germanwings plane crashed in France
Probably many German victims at Airbus crash
Status: 03.24.2015 13:26 clock
Probably many German victims onboard Airbus
Many Spaniards onboard
The crash of an aircraft Lufthansa subsidiary German Wings in southern France numerous German are probably died. The Airbus A320 was en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf and fell between Grenoble and Nice from the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.Information on the cause of the crash is not yet available.
The Foreign Office has set up a crisis management team. About a hotline with the telephone number 030 / 5000-3000 , members can inform, said a spokeswoman for the ministry. Even the Airport Dusseldorf taught under the call number 0800-7766350 a hotline in.
142 passengers and six crew members are said to have been on board Flight 4U 9525. According to the Spanish government were 45 Spaniards among them. The flight took off at 9:55 clock with about 20 minutes late in Barcelona and was supposed to land at 11:55 clock in Dusseldorf.
On the Web at “flightradar24.com” it was said that the machine was initially (11.58 km =) rose to an altitude of 38,000 feet. The French aviation authority DGAC said Airbus had sent a distress signal at 10:47 local time clock. At the time the machine Lufthansa subsidiary German Wings have found at a height of 5000 feet (1500 meters).
Wreckage of the aircraft were discovered after media reports in the Southern Alps mountain range in Trois Évêchés in the region between Digne-les-Bains and Barcelonette. The Mayor of Barcelonnette said therefore that the machine is descended through a remote and snowbound region. The place could probably be achieved only by helicopter and on foot, said a mountain guide the transmitter BFMTV.Whether people were injured on the ground, is not yet known.
Status: 03.24.2015 12:33 clock
The crash of an aircraft Lufthansa subsidiary German Wings in southern France numerous German are probably died. The Airbus A320 was en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf and fell between Grenoble and Nice from. Information on the cause of the crash is not yet available.
142 passengers and six crew members are said to have been on board Flight 4U 9525. The flight took off at 9:55 clock with about 20 minutes late in Barcelona and was supposed to land at 11:55 clock in Dusseldorf.According to information provided by the ATC the plane crashed at 10.37 clock.
French President Francois Hollande spoke of a significant number of German victims. There is probably no survivors. Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in the crash could be up to 150 people have died. He was the Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve sent to the accident site.
On the Web at “flightradar24.com” it was said that the machine was initially (11.58 km =) rose to an altitude of 38,000 feet. The contact with her was at an altitude of 6800 feet demolished (= 2.07 km). The Airbus concerned there had been one of the oldest machines of this type. She was delivered in November 1990.
The French Interior Ministry announced wreckage of the plane had been found in the Southern Alps in the region of Barcelonnette. The mayor of the town said, according to media reports, the plane was descended through a remote and snowbound region.
A Lufthansa spokesman said you can currently the crash neither confirm nor deny. Concluded that there was no reliable information. This was shared by Germanwings in a short Twitter message.
