Black box found in France plane crash
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The black box, which contains crucial flight data, will help investigators determine the cause of the crash.
Search teams have found a black box of the plane that crashed in a remote area of the French Alps, The French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said Tuesday.
Earlier, Cazeneuve had visited the crash site.
Speaking to reporters, the minister said the black box would assist investigators move forward to determine the cause of the crash. He also assured the victims' families of all possible government assistance in reaching the crash site if they wished, local French media reported.
Turkish Foreign Minister announced Tuesday evening that one of the victims included a Turkish-origin woman Muradiye Lochman, aged 50.
By Hajer M'tiri, Ayhan Simsek with additional reporting from Michael Hernandez in Washington
Nearly 150 people are feared dead.
A total of 144 passengers and six crew were aboard flight 4U 9525, Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann said, when the 24-year-old aircraft went down in the French Alps.
The aircraft disappeared from radar screens at about 11 a.m. local time as it headed from the Spanish city of Barcelona to Dusseldorf, Germany, according to aviation officials.
Two babies and 67 German citizens were among the passengers, Winkelmann told journalists at a press conference in the German city of Cologne.
He confirmed that 16 students and two teachers from the German city of Haltern were among the victims.
Winkelmann declined to give information on the nationalities of other victims, stressing that they were first trying to contact families, and would inform the media after confirming the exact names and nationalities.
Turkish, German and Spanish nationals were among the passengers, King Felipe VI of Spain said in Paris during a state visit to France. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said at a press conference in Spain that 45 victims were Spanish.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in Ankara that according to initial reports, Muradiye Lohmann, a woman of Turkish-origin, was among the victims. He also said that another passenger named Yasmin could possibly be a Turkish citizen, but it was not yet confirmed.
German authorities have set up a crisis desk at the Dusseldorf airport to provide information and support to families and friends of the passengers.
"The conditions of the accident suggest that there are no survivors," said French President Francois Hollande said:
The crash area is a horror. The aircraft is totally destroyed. Sadness, tweeted French Member of Parliament Christophe Castaner, who flew above the crash site with French Interior Minister Bernard Cazenenve.
Terrible scenes in this mountain landscape. There is nothing left but debris and bodies, Castaner wrote.
The strength of the crash leaves little hope that anyone is still alive," Cazeneuve told reporters at the crash site.
According to the French justice ministry, the Marseille prosecutor has launched a probe into the incident to determine the reasons behind the crash.
Germanwings CEO said the aircraft crashed about 52 minutes after takeoff.
According to the information we have for the time being, the aircraft reached to its regular cruising altitude at 10:45 a.m. and after a minute it has entered into a descent, which continued for eight minutes, Winkelmann said.
He stressed that the aircraft went through routine checks last Monday in Dusseldorf, by its sister company Lufthansa. He also emphasized that the pilot had experience of at least 6,000 flight hours with Airbus models, and was working for Germanwings and its sister company for 10 years.
He promised a full investigation to reveal the cause of the crash and said a team of experts from the airline, Lufthansa and Airbus had been sent to France.
German weekly Der Spiegel claimed on its website that the plane experienced a technical problem on the Nose Landing Door on Monday and was grounded for hours.
A Lufthansa spokesman quoted by the weekly confirmed the problem. But that problem was fully resolved and the aircraft started its regular flights yesterday (Monday) at 10 oclock in the morning, he said.
Scores of Germanwings flights were canceled Tuesday. Der Spiegel claimed that it was due to a protest by pilots. But the company dismissed the claim and said that some pilots could not work Tuesday because of personal reasons.
Snow, rain and heavy winds were reported to be sweeping the crash site at Meolans-Revels near the town of Barcelonnette, with bad weather forecast for the coming days, which would hamper any rescue-and-recovery operations.
"There was a distress call recorded at 10:47 ... (which) showed that the aircraft was at 5,000 feet, in an abnormal situation and the crash took place shortly after this signal," said French Secretary of State for Transport Alain Vidal.
Pierre-Henry Brandet, French Interior Ministry spokesman said that the plane crashed "in a mountainous area difficult to access, at 2,000 meters above sea level."
Search-and-rescue teams with helicopters were sent to the crash site.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her deep sorrow for the crash and promised a comprehensive investigation.
Merkel said at a press conference in Berlin that she phoned French President Hollande and Spains Rajoy, and they agreed to closely cooperate to find out the cause of the crash. Merkel added that she would travel to the crash site Wednesday.
German President Joachim Gauck cut short an official visit to South America, and his spokeswoman announced that a planned visit to Uruguay was also canceled.
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said in Berlin that Germany had set up a special crisis desk and hotline number +49 30 5000 3000 in connection with the crash.
Steinmeier canceled his program for Tuesday afternoon and headed to the scene, along with German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
"We are all united in deep sorrow," Steinmeier told reporters at the crash site. He thanked the French government and its emergency units for their search efforts.
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Today's plane crash in the Alps is heartbreaking news."
"The UK will do everything it can to support the French emergency services," Cameron added.
In phone calls to Merkel and Rajoy, U.S. President Barack Obama extended his condolences to the leaders and offered American support in response to the tragedy.
The State Department earlier said that it was investigating whether any American nationals were onboard when the plane went down.
The French union of air traffic controllers, SNCTA, announced in a statement that it had suspended strikes planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday given the "dramatic circumstances." SCNTA said that one of the reasons for their strike was concerns about overloaded airspace.
Tuesdays plane crash has been one of the most tragic incidents in Germanys recent aviation history. It was the first deadly crash of a Germanwings plane since the low-budget airline was founded by Germanys largest airline in 2002.
A Lufthansa Airbus A320-200 overran the runway of an airport in Warsaw, Poland, in 1993. The co-pilot and a passenger died, while 68 occupants survived.
Tuesdays crash is also the first on French soil since July 25, 2000, when an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel in Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, shortly after taking off from Roissy-CDG airport, killing 13 German passengers and crew members, along with four others on the ground.
Anadolu Agency
Earlier, Cazeneuve had visited the crash site.
Speaking to reporters, the minister said the black box would assist investigators move forward to determine the cause of the crash. He also assured the victims' families of all possible government assistance in reaching the crash site if they wished, local French media reported.
Turkish Foreign Minister announced Tuesday evening that one of the victims included a Turkish-origin woman Muradiye Lochman, aged 50.
By Hajer M'tiri, Ayhan Simsek with additional reporting from Michael Hernandez in Washington
Nearly 150 people are feared dead.
A total of 144 passengers and six crew were aboard flight 4U 9525, Germanwings CEO Thomas Winkelmann said, when the 24-year-old aircraft went down in the French Alps.
The aircraft disappeared from radar screens at about 11 a.m. local time as it headed from the Spanish city of Barcelona to Dusseldorf, Germany, according to aviation officials.
Two babies and 67 German citizens were among the passengers, Winkelmann told journalists at a press conference in the German city of Cologne.
He confirmed that 16 students and two teachers from the German city of Haltern were among the victims.
Winkelmann declined to give information on the nationalities of other victims, stressing that they were first trying to contact families, and would inform the media after confirming the exact names and nationalities.
Turkish, German and Spanish nationals were among the passengers, King Felipe VI of Spain said in Paris during a state visit to France. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said at a press conference in Spain that 45 victims were Spanish.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in Ankara that according to initial reports, Muradiye Lohmann, a woman of Turkish-origin, was among the victims. He also said that another passenger named Yasmin could possibly be a Turkish citizen, but it was not yet confirmed.
German authorities have set up a crisis desk at the Dusseldorf airport to provide information and support to families and friends of the passengers.
"The conditions of the accident suggest that there are no survivors," said French President Francois Hollande said:
The crash area is a horror. The aircraft is totally destroyed. Sadness, tweeted French Member of Parliament Christophe Castaner, who flew above the crash site with French Interior Minister Bernard Cazenenve.
Terrible scenes in this mountain landscape. There is nothing left but debris and bodies, Castaner wrote.
The strength of the crash leaves little hope that anyone is still alive," Cazeneuve told reporters at the crash site.
According to the French justice ministry, the Marseille prosecutor has launched a probe into the incident to determine the reasons behind the crash.
Germanwings CEO said the aircraft crashed about 52 minutes after takeoff.
According to the information we have for the time being, the aircraft reached to its regular cruising altitude at 10:45 a.m. and after a minute it has entered into a descent, which continued for eight minutes, Winkelmann said.
He stressed that the aircraft went through routine checks last Monday in Dusseldorf, by its sister company Lufthansa. He also emphasized that the pilot had experience of at least 6,000 flight hours with Airbus models, and was working for Germanwings and its sister company for 10 years.
He promised a full investigation to reveal the cause of the crash and said a team of experts from the airline, Lufthansa and Airbus had been sent to France.
German weekly Der Spiegel claimed on its website that the plane experienced a technical problem on the Nose Landing Door on Monday and was grounded for hours.
A Lufthansa spokesman quoted by the weekly confirmed the problem. But that problem was fully resolved and the aircraft started its regular flights yesterday (Monday) at 10 oclock in the morning, he said.
Scores of Germanwings flights were canceled Tuesday. Der Spiegel claimed that it was due to a protest by pilots. But the company dismissed the claim and said that some pilots could not work Tuesday because of personal reasons.
Snow, rain and heavy winds were reported to be sweeping the crash site at Meolans-Revels near the town of Barcelonnette, with bad weather forecast for the coming days, which would hamper any rescue-and-recovery operations.
"There was a distress call recorded at 10:47 ... (which) showed that the aircraft was at 5,000 feet, in an abnormal situation and the crash took place shortly after this signal," said French Secretary of State for Transport Alain Vidal.
Pierre-Henry Brandet, French Interior Ministry spokesman said that the plane crashed "in a mountainous area difficult to access, at 2,000 meters above sea level."
Search-and-rescue teams with helicopters were sent to the crash site.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her deep sorrow for the crash and promised a comprehensive investigation.
Merkel said at a press conference in Berlin that she phoned French President Hollande and Spains Rajoy, and they agreed to closely cooperate to find out the cause of the crash. Merkel added that she would travel to the crash site Wednesday.
German President Joachim Gauck cut short an official visit to South America, and his spokeswoman announced that a planned visit to Uruguay was also canceled.
German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said in Berlin that Germany had set up a special crisis desk and hotline number +49 30 5000 3000 in connection with the crash.
Steinmeier canceled his program for Tuesday afternoon and headed to the scene, along with German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt.
"We are all united in deep sorrow," Steinmeier told reporters at the crash site. He thanked the French government and its emergency units for their search efforts.
In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Today's plane crash in the Alps is heartbreaking news."
"The UK will do everything it can to support the French emergency services," Cameron added.
In phone calls to Merkel and Rajoy, U.S. President Barack Obama extended his condolences to the leaders and offered American support in response to the tragedy.
The State Department earlier said that it was investigating whether any American nationals were onboard when the plane went down.
The French union of air traffic controllers, SNCTA, announced in a statement that it had suspended strikes planned for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday given the "dramatic circumstances." SCNTA said that one of the reasons for their strike was concerns about overloaded airspace.
Tuesdays plane crash has been one of the most tragic incidents in Germanys recent aviation history. It was the first deadly crash of a Germanwings plane since the low-budget airline was founded by Germanys largest airline in 2002.
A Lufthansa Airbus A320-200 overran the runway of an airport in Warsaw, Poland, in 1993. The co-pilot and a passenger died, while 68 occupants survived.
Tuesdays crash is also the first on French soil since July 25, 2000, when an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel in Gonesse in the Val-d'Oise, shortly after taking off from Roissy-CDG airport, killing 13 German passengers and crew members, along with four others on the ground.
Anadolu Agency
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