Passenger plane carrying 148 people crashes in the French Alps en route from Spain to Germany

A plane carrying 142 passengers and six crew has crashed in the southern French Alps en route from Spain to Germany. 

The Airbus A320 disappeared from radar in the Alpes de Hautes Provence after sending a distress signal at 10.47am local time (9.47am GMT).

Debris from the jet, operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline, has been found scattered over a wide area near Barcelonnette.

French president Francois Hollande said that he did not expect there to be any survivors. 

He said: It's a loss, a tragedy which has happened on our soil. 

'I am seeking information about homes in the area it came down. It's difficult place to access. In the meantime solidarity must prevail.' 

                           

Mr Hollande said he would be meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the King of Spain, visiting Paris for three days.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known, with weather conditions described as good in the region and the airliner flying at an altitude high above the Alps.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he understood between 142 and 150 people were on board and feared dead.

The plane was travelling from the Spanish coastal city of Barcelona to the German city of Duesseldorf when it went down in the Barcelonnette area in southeastern France. 

A spokesman for the DGAC aviation authority said the airplane crashed near the town of Barcelonnette about 100 km (65 miles) north of the French Riviera city of Nice.

German media reports say there is a wide field of debris visible. 

According to flight data from FlightAware 24, at 09.30 UTC (10.30 GMT) the aircraft was cruising at 38,000 feet at 532mph.

It started losing altitude to 37,975 by 10.31am with the speed reportedly increasing to 548mph.

But 10.41am, the last reported radar returns had the aircraft descending to 6,800 feet at 434mph. 

The aircraft plunged 31,200 feet in just ten minutes, according to the data.

                     

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

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.' 

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

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

Lufthansa were not immediately available for a comment. Airbus had no immediate comment. 

Germanwings today is the low-cost subsidiary of German national carrier Lufthansa, and was first branded in 2002. 

The company’s history can be dated back to 1997, however, when it was known as Eurowings.

                       

The airline’s main hubs are at Cologne Bonn Airport, Stuttgart Airport, Hamburg Airport, Berlin Tegel Airport and Dusseldorf Airport with further bases are Hannover Airport and Dortmund Airport.

Lufthansa have announced that Cologne-based Germanwings will be going back to its roots and re-branding back to Eurowings in autumn this year.

There are a total of 81 aircraft in Germanwings’ fleet, with an average of 9.2 years, flying to 86 destinations around the world. The fleet includes the Airbus A319, Airbus A320 and the Bombardier CRJ900.

There had never been a fatal crash in Germanwings’ history until the reports of today’s tragedy.

Back in December 2010, a Germanwings flight was said to be ‘moments from crashing’ after the pilots were overcome with fumes on landing at Cologne. 

The plane had 150 passengers on board, and officials accused Germanwings of ‘playing down the incident’ to ‘avoid investigation’. 

The first flight of an Airbus A320 took place in February 1987 in Toulouse, France, watched on by Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who were guests of then French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac.

More than 1,400 people attended the opening at the French company’s headquarters.

The first delivery of the aircraft was to Air France on March 26, 1988.

Airbus A320 aircraft have been part of Lufthansa fleet, including its subsidiaries, since 1989.