Report reaching us has it that a plane
conveying nearly 142 passengers and six crew
members has crashed in the southern French Alps
while flying from Spain to Germany.
Dailymail UK reports that the Airbus A320
disappeared from the radar in the Alpes de Hautes
Provence after a distress signal was sent at
10.47am local time (9.47am GMT).
French president, Francois Hollande said survivors
are not likely even as debris from the jet, operated
by Lufthansa’s Germanwings budget airline, has
been reportedly found near Barcelonnette.
Confirming the crash, the French Prime Minister,
Manuel Valls said he understood that between 142
and 150 people were on board and may have died in
the crash.
Similarly, a spokesman for the DGAC aviation
authority said the plane crashed near Barcelonnette
town, 100 km north of the French Riviera city of
Nice.
Flight data from Flight Aware 24, at 09.30 UTC
(10.30 GMT) shows that the aircraft was flying at
38,000 feet at 463 knots.
From the data, it was gathered that it started losing
altitude to 37,975 by 10.31am with the speed
reportedly increasing to 477kts.
However as at 10.41am, the reported radar returns
had the aircraft flying down at 6,800 feet at 378kts.
After ten minutes, the aircraft lurched 31,200 feet.
Lufthansa’s Germanwings unit has however not
confirmed the report yet.
The company tweeted: ‘’we have recently become
aware of media reports speculating on an incident,
though we still do not have any own confirmed
information.’’