Plane crash in French Alps: Another mystery (Updated)

25 มีนาคม 2558

A plane operated by the budget carrier of Germany's Lufthansa descended for eight minutes with no radio communication from its cockpit before hitting the side of a mountain in southern France, killing all 150 people onboard.

A plane operated by the budget carrier of Germany's Lufthansa descended for eight minutes with no radio communication from its cockpit before hitting the side of a mountain in southern France, killing all 150 people onboard.

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Wednesday morning update

A screengrab taken from an AFP TV video on March 24, 2015 shows search and rescue personnel near scattered debris while making their way through the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps above the southeastern town of Seyne. AFP PHOTO /DENIS BOIS /GRIPMEDIA / AFP TV

150 dead in plane crash in French Alps

Seyne-les-Alpes, France, AFP – A plane operated by the budget carrier of Germany's Lufthansa crashed in a remote area of the French Alps Tuesday, killing all 150 on board in the worst aviation disaster on French soil in decades.

A screengrab taken from an AFP TV video on March 24, 2015 shows a general view of the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 in the French Alps. AFP PHOTO /DENIS BOIS /GRIPMEDIA / AFP TV

The accident's cause remains a mystery but authorities have recovered a black box from the Airbus A320 at the crash site, where rescue efforts were hampered by the mountainous terrain.

Victims included 16 German teenagers and their two teachers on a school trip, and the mayor of their hometown called it "the darkest day in the history of our city".

French civil aviation authorities said they lost contact with the aircraft at 10:30 am (0930 GMT).

The plane descended for eight minutes with no radio communication from its cockpit before hitting the side of a mountain. There was no response to desperate attempts by air traffic controllers to hail the pilots.

Video images from a government helicopter showed a desolate snow-flecked moonscape, with steep ravines covered in scree. Debris was strewn across the mountainside, pieces of twisted metal smashed into tiny bits.

Local MP Christophe Castaner, who flew over the site, said on Twitter: "Horrendous images in this mountain scenery. Nothing is left but debris and bodies.

"A horror – the plane is totally destroyed."

Weather did not appear to be a factor in the crash, with conditions "calm" at the time.

Thomas Winkelmann, spokesman of German airline GermanWings gives a statement on March 24, 2015 in Cologne, western Germany after a plane of Germanwings crashed in the south of France earlier the day. The head of low-budget airline Germanwings said there were 144 passengers and six crew on the Airbus A320 that crashed in the French Alps en route to Duesseldorf from Barcelona. AFP PHOTO / PATRIK STOLLARZ

Germanwings executive Thomas Winkelmann said the pilot had "more than 10 years of experience" and some 6,000 flying hours on an Airbus jet under his belt.

It was the first fatal accident in the history of Germanwings, and the deadliest on the French mainland since 1974 when a Turkish Airlines plane crashed, killing 346 people.

Authorities commandeered a large meadow with dozens of helicopters taking off. Several days will be needed to recover the scattered remains of those killed, a police spokesman said.

Helicopters of the French Air Force (back) and civil security services are seen in Seyne, south-eastern France, on March 24, 2015, near the site where a Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed in the French Alps. AFP PHOTO / BORIS HORVAT

"Ground access is horrible ... it's a very high mountainous area, very steep and it's terrible to get there except from the air during winter," local resident Francoise Pie said.

Previous story

An Airbus A320 of the German airline Germanwings parked at the airport in Cologne, Germany. French President Francois Hollande said no survivors are likely in the Alpine crash of a passenger jet carrying 148 people. The Germanwings passenger jet crashed Tuesday in the French Alps region as it travelled from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. (AP photo)

AIR SAFETY

No survivors expected in French Alps plane crash: Hollande

Germanwings plane crashes in France
24/03/2015
Agencies

All 148 people aboard an Airbus that crashed Tuesday in the French Alps are likely dead, French President Francois Hollande said.

"There are not thought to be any survivors" from the Germanwings plane that crashed on its way from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, Hollande told reporters.

An Airbus plane operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline crashed in southern France on Tuesday en route from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, police and aviation officials said.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the cause is currently unknown.

A spokesman for the DGAC aviation authority said the airplane crashed near the town of Barcelonnette about 100km north of the French Riviera city of Nice.

The crashed A320 plane is 24 years old and has been with the parent Lufthansa group since 1991, according to online database airfleets.net.

The area where the plane crashed is said to be snow-covered and very difficult to access (From Guardian live newsfeed here ).

The route that the flight took:

UPDATE Yesterday #4U9525 took exactly the same route /@planefinder http://t.co/wFg8KTSve2 pic.twitter.com/UyLWPJArJ5
— AirLive.net (@airlivenet) March 24, 2015