Germanwings plane crashes in southern France, 148 feared dead: officials

[Necron99]

An Airbus plane operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline has crashed in southern France en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, police and aviation officials say.

French president Francois Hollande said he believed none of the 148 people on board the plane had survived.

"There were 148 people on board," Mr Hollande said. "The conditions of the accident, which have not yet been clarified, lead us to think there are no survivors."

He said there was likely to be a significant number of German victims.


He added: "The accident happened in a zone that is particularly hard to access."

French prime minister Manuel Valls told reporters the cause of the crash was unknown.

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

The local La Provence newspaper said the Airbus A320 was carrying 142 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew, citing aviation officials.

Debris from a crashed airliner was found near a French village, the interior ministry said.

Lufthansa's Germanwings unit said it was as yet unable to verify reports of the crash.

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

An Airbus spokeswoman said the company was trying to assess the situation after the crash reports.

Reuters


Germanwings plane crashes in southern France, 148 feared dead: officials - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)



Tinfoilers, to your keyboards....

[Ronin]

An A320 the aircraft they tell us is so safe.

[Seekingasylum]

Pilot error, usually, and an inability to deal competently with anomalies.

[Ronin]

Pilot error, usually, and an inability to deal competently with anomalies.

Ahem, latest information from BBC is the aircraft decompressed, a distress signal was sent. The reasons why we will have to wait for. 'Inability to deal with anomalies?' Rather a crass statement isn't it?

[patsycat]

It crashed in the Alps at 2,900 metres altitude. No survivors. And very difficult to get to it by road. Bits of it are strewen over 12 hectares.

I'm watching the French TV at the moment. It's a bit iffy the news, but a guy who was flying his private plane supposedly saw it go down.

Very sad, 150 people gone.

The French Airforce are now trying to get there. But with the snow and winds up to 60km an hour it may be difficult.

[thaimeme]

An A320 the aircraft they tell us is so safe.

.....and a so-called "budget" carrier.

A tragedy anyway one looks at it.

RIP to those...

[patsycat]

I don't think Budget should come into it. How many thousands of people fly Budget every day. If they couldn't then the airlines would be sitting on the Tarmac.

All planes are checked.

The helicopters are going up now. The Firemen and Police and Army are using every way to get up there.

Oh, and Hollande and the King of Spain shall arrive to make their speeches in about an hour.

[baldrick]

Oh, and Hollande and the King of Spain shall arrive to make their speeches in about an hour

ambulance chasers

[klong toey]

A view from the rescue helicopter, shown on French television (France 2)

[klong toey]

Latest report on Sky news,helicopter landed near crash site no survivors.
Largest piece of plane left about the size of a car,reports come from rescuers aboard the helicopter.

[sabang]

An A320 the aircraft they tell us is so safe.

Statistically, the safest ever.

[Takeovers]

I have no knowledge of plane operation. I will be waiting for analysis. But what I gatherered from news seems weird to me, I may be wrong though.

There was no distress call from the plane. It was issued by ground control after losing the plane from radar. The rate of descent suggests that the pilot was in at least partial control trying for emergency descent and landing though the terrain gave little hope. A plane spiralling down out of control would have descended much faster according to that comment.

So if they were fighting for control for several minutes why no distress call? Sure the pilot was too busy but the co pilot? Maybe he wasn't in the cockpit at the time.

[Ronin]

I have no knowledge of plane operation. I will be waiting for analysis. But what I gatherered from news seems weird to me, I may be wrong though.

There was no distress call from the plane. It was issued by ground control after losing the plane from radar. The rate of descent suggests that the pilot was in at least partial control trying for emergency descent and landing though the terrain gave little hope. A plane spiralling down out of control would have descended much faster according to that comment.

So if they were fighting for control for several minutes why no distress call? Sure the pilot was too busy but the co pilot? Maybe he wasn't in the cockpit at the time.

One needs to wait, I am sure you and anybody else reading this knows how much spectulation and conjecture along with rumours there are every time a plane goes down.

[dobella]

I saw on a website that it was in an 8 minute descend to impact, oh that is just unbelievable for the poor folk on board.
Traffic accidents are bad but having to endure 8 minutes is just sickening and I like all others on this site fly many times a year, there but for the grace......

[Takeovers]

One needs to wait, I am sure you and anybody else reading this knows how much spectulation and conjecture along with rumours there are every time a plane goes down.

You are right and I did not mean to start a conspiracy theory. I would not even have any idea how that could look like.

[patsycat]

They've found one of the black boxes.

And the French TV that i am watching are being really nasty about the fact that the victims were Spanish or German and no French victims. Two babies.

They really have no idea sometimes about what they talk about, and are waffling on about the costs. Shise, any other plane crash if there was even an inkling that there was a French victim they would be all over it.

Just seen a picture - Jaysus, that is one crash site.

[Takeovers]

Looking on TV now too. All that is visible are very small pieces. Heard the largest piece found has car size.

The airbus was old but fully updated to the newest standard, like a new plane.

[nigelandjan]

There is a whisper of one Israeli on board

[Takeovers]

Airbus has built 6000 A320 and has orders for another 4000. The Hamburg factory builds one every working day. There is another factory in France.

[BaitongBoy]

RIP, in the cold hard mountains...

[wasabi]

I just hope that non of the Thai community where on board.

[billy the kid]

having to endure 8 minutes

the horror, 2 babies,16 students, 67 germans , 47 spaniards ,a dutch and belgium nat. + crew.

[kingwilly]

Blame the low cost carriers, not nationality or gender or secular orientation.

[panama hat]

Why blame low cost carriers, especially an airline like Germanwings . . .

MAS?
SQ?
Garuda?
Korean?
Air France?
Swissair?
Thai?
American?
Alaska Airlines?
Gulf Air?
Air India?
Asiana?


The list goes on . . .

[Takeovers]

Germanwings is a full subsidiary of Lufthansa. The planes are serviced to the same standards.