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Germanwings Flight 9525

Coordinates: 44°17′52″N 6°28′01″E / 44.2979°N 6.4670°E / 44.2979; 6.4670
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Germanwings Flight 9525
D-AIPX, the aircraft involved in the accident, pictured in May 2014
Occurrence
Date24 March 2015 (2015-03-24)
SummaryUnder investigation
SitePrads-Haute-Bléone, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
44°17′52″N 6°28′01″E / 44.2979°N 6.4670°E / 44.2979; 6.4670[1]
Aircraft
Aircraft typeAirbus A320-211
OperatorGermanwings
RegistrationD-AIPX
Flight originBarcelona–El Prat Airport, Spain
DestinationDüsseldorf Airport, Germany
Passengers144[2]
Crew6[2][3]
Fatalities150 (all)[4]
Survivors0

Germanwings Flight 9525 (4U9525/GWI9525) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, operated by Lufthansa-owned low-cost airline Germanwings. On 24 March 2015, the aircraft serving that flight, an Airbus A320-211, crashed around 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of Nice, in the French Alps. All 144 passengers and six crew were killed.

It is the third-deadliest crash of an Airbus A320, after TAM Airlines Flight 3054 and Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501, and the third-deadliest aviation disaster on French soil.[5][6][7]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A320-211,[a] serial number 147, registered as D-AIPX. Its first flight was on 29 November 1990,[8] and it was delivered to Lufthansa on 5 February 1991. It served with Germanwings for the first time in 2003. It was returned to Lufthansa in 2004 and was re-transferred to the relaunched Germanwings on 31 January 2014.[9] The aircraft had accumulated about 58,300 flight hours on 46,700 flights.[10] The original Design Service Goal (DSG) of the aircraft was 60,000 hours or 48,000 flights. In 2012 an optional Extended Service Goal (ESG1) was approved, extending the service life to 120,000 hours or 60,000 flights, provided that a required package of service and inspections were performed before the DSG was reached.[11]

Crash

Flight path.

Flight 9525 took off from Runway 07R at Barcelona–El Prat Airport at around 10:01 CET (09:01 UTC) and was due to arrive at Düsseldorf Airport by 11:39 CET (10:39 UTC).[2][12] The flight's scheduled departure time was at 9:35 CET (08:35 UTC).[13]

The French aviation authority Direction générale de l'aviation civile (DGAC) declared the plane in distress after the aircraft's descent and loss of radio contact.[14][15] The aircraft had reached its cruising altitude, flight level 380 (approx. 38,000 ft [12,000 m]), three minutes prior to the start of what seems to have been a controlled descent. The aircraft crashed within the territory of the remote commune of Prads-Haute-Bléone, which is about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north-west of Nice.[16][17][18] Radar contact was lost at 10:45; at the time, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of about 6,800 ft (2,100 m).[1]

The crash is the deadliest air disaster in France since the crash of Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308 in 1981, which killed 180 people.[19] It was also the third-deadliest aviation incident in French history after Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308 and Turkish Airlines Flight 981 in 1974.[19] This was also the first crash of a civil airliner in France since the Air France Flight 4590 Concorde crash near Paris in 2000.[20]

Timeline of events

At this moment this timeline gives a rough timing of events during event. When more information comes timeline will be more accurate. At this moment accuracy is ±2 mins depending on source
Elapsed
(HH:MM)		 Time Event
UTC CET
(UTC+1)
-00:09 08:52 09:52 First known position on Flightradar24
00:00 09:01 10:01 Take-off from Barcelona–El Prat [21]
00:26 09:27 10:27 Flight 9525 reaches cruise altitude, flight level 380
00:30 09:31 10:31 Flight 9525 begins to descend, at a rate of about 3,375 feet per minute
00:40 09:41 10:41 Last known position on Flightradar24[22]
00:44 09:45 10:45 Radar contact lost[23]
00:46 09:47 10:47 French air traffic control issues distress call [24] [25] [26][failed verification]

Attitude for Flight 9525(data source: flightradar24[27])

Passengers and crew

People on board by nationality[28]
Nationality No.
 Germany 67[29]
 Spain 45[29]
 United Kingdom Several (unconfirmed) [30]
 Argentina 2[31]
 Australia 2[32]
 Colombia 2[33]
 Mexico 2[34]
 Morocco 2[35]
 Belgium 1[36]
 Denmark 1[37]
 Israel 1[38]
 Netherlands 1[39]
 Turkey 1[40]
Unknown 23
Total 150

It was initially reported that most of the passengers were German, but the Spanish government later reported that there were 45 Spanish and possibly some Turkish citizens on board.[41][24] Germanwings stated that 67 German citizens may have been on the plane,[4] including 16 students and two teachers from the [[{{{1}}}]] [], Haltern, North Rhine-Westphalia. They were on their way home from a student exchange with the Giola Institute in Llinars del Vallès, Catalonia.[42] Haltern's mayor, [[{{{1}}}]] [], has described it as "the darkest day in the history of our city."[43]

Initial reports stated there were 146 people on board, but later reports have indicated there were 144 passengers and six crew members, including Turkish, Belgian, German, Dutch, Danish and Spanish nationals.[28] A Germanwings representative announced that the captain had 10 years of flying experience (6000 flight hours)[1] with Germanwings and Lufthansa.[24] The Israeli Foreign Ministry identified the Israeli citizen on board as the 39 year old businessman and designer Eyal Baum from Hod HaSharon.[44]

The Deutsche Oper am Rhein confirmed that bass-baritone Oleg Bryzhak was among the passengers,[45] as were German contralto [[{{{1}}}]] [], her husband and baby. Both were returning from performances of Richard Wagner's Siegfried at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.[46]

Site

Attitude chart for Flight 4U9525(crashed) register D-AIPX.

The crash site is within the [[{{{1}}}]] [] and is also close to [[{{{1}}}]] [], where Air France Flight 178 crashed in 1953.

Police and Sécurité Civile sent helicopters to locate the wreckage.[47][48] A picture from the accident site was released, with the report that the aircraft had disintegrated, the largest piece of wreckage being "the size of a car".[49] According to French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, a helicopter which landed near the site of the crash confirmed that there were no survivors.[50] The search and rescue team reported that the debris field is two square kilometres (0.77 sq mi) in size.[17]

The French Aviation Authority has set up temporary flight restrictions in the area surrounding the crash site.[51] The prohibited area was first set starting from 24 March at 11:47 GMT (12:47 CET) a circle radius of 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) centered at 44°16′50″N 6°26′25″E / 44.28056°N 6.44028°E / 44.28056; 6.44028 staring from FL000 up to FL140.[52] Later, on 24 March at 13:38 GMT (14:38 CET), a second larger area was added to cover a radius of 10 nautical miles (19 km; 12 mi) centered at 44°16′48″N 6°26′24″E / 44.28000°N 6.44000°E / 44.28000; 6.44000 from FL000 to FL100.[53] Entry into the airspace is forbidden, except for state flights or for rescue missions.[54]

Rescue efforts were suspended overnight by the French authorities to ensure the safety of the rescuers; especially the helicopters for which it is difficult to land at night and in the crash area's terrain. Five French police officers guarded the site during the night between 24 and 25 March.

Response

The French Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve remarked that due to the "violence of the impact" there was "little hope" that any survivors would be found,[55] while French President François Hollande called the crash a tragedy.[19] Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he had dispatched Interior Minister Cazeneuve to the scene and set-up a ministerial crisis cell to co-ordinate the incident.[6]

King Felipe VI of Spain, in Paris for a state visit to France at the time of the crash, announced his decision to cut his visit short and return to Spain.[28]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she would travel to the crash site on 25 March together with Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia Hannelore Kraft. Merkel said the incident had plunged Germany, France, and Spain into "deep mourning".[56] German President Joachim Gauck, speaking from Peru, stated he was in deep shock at the horrifying crash.[57] Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier flew over the crash site on 24 March, describing it as "a picture of horror".[6]

Lufthansa Chief Executive Carsten Spohr announced plans to visit the site of the crash, and called the day of the accident a "dark day for Lufthansa".[16] Both Lufthansa and Germanwings, along with other Lufthansa subsidiaries, changed their on-line logos to black and white in a show of compassion for the victims and their families.[6]

Investigation

The French national civil aviation enquiries bureau, Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile (BEA), has opened an investigation into the crash, joined by its German counterpart, the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Investigation (BFU). On 24 March, the BEA sent seven investigators to the crash site, accompanied by representatives from Airbus and CFM International. The BEA will hold a press conference on 25 March.[58]

The cockpit voice recorder was recovered by rescue workers and is being examined by the investigation team.[59][60]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 model; the 11 specifies it was fitted with CFM International CFM56-5A1 engines.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Crash: Germanwings A320 near Barcelonnette on Mar 24th 2015, lost height and impacted terrain". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Un Airbus A320 transportant 148 personnes s'écrase près de Digne-les-Bains" (in French). BFMTV. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  3. ^ 150 feared dead after plane crashes in French Alps. Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Confirmed by Police". News 24. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  5. ^ "France plane crash: No survivors expected, French President says". CNN. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d "Germanwings airliner crashes in French Alps". BBC News. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Germanwings plane crashes in France, up to 150 feared dead". Reuters. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  8. ^ "4U9525 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  9. ^ "D-AIPX Germanwings Airbus A320-211 - cn 147". Planespotters.net.[unreliable source?]
  10. ^ Engel, Pamela; Kelley, Michael B. (24 March 2015). "A plane with 150 people aboard crashed in France — no survivors expected". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Lufthansa Technik New Life for the A320, pg 20" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Germanwings (4U) #9525 ✈ 24-Mar-2015 ✈ LEBL / BCN – EDDL / DUS". FlightAware. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  13. ^ "(4U) Germanwings 9525 Flight Status". Flightstats. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  14. ^ "Germanwings flight 4U9525 crashes in French Alps with 150 on board – live updates". The Guardian. 'The aircraft did not itself make a distress call but it was the combination of the loss of radio contact and the aircraft's descent which led the controller to implement the distress phase,' a spokesman for the DGAC authority said.
  15. ^ "Airbus crash latest coverage". BBC News. Contrary to previous reports, the crew did not send a distress signal, according to AFP. Civil aviation authorities told the agency: 'The crew did not send a Mayday. It was air traffic control that decided to declare the plane was in distress because there was no contact with the crew of the plane.' {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 89 (help)
  16. ^ a b "Germanwings Airbus crashes in French Alps, 150 dead". Reuters. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  17. ^ a b "German Airbus A320 plane crashes in French Alps". theguardian.com. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  18. ^ Withnall, Adam (24 March 2015). "A320 crashes: Germanwings Flight down in southern France". The Independent. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  19. ^ a b c "Germanwings Airbus Carrying 150 Crashes in French Alps". The New York Times. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  20. ^ "French Alps plane crash: Germanwings crew 'did not send distress signal'". independent.co.uk. Independent Digital News and Media Ltd. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  21. ^ "Full flight information and flight history for Germanwings aircraft D-AIPX". Flightradar24. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  22. ^ "Last position of Germanwings flight". Flightradar24. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  23. ^ Hradecky, Simon. "Crash: Germanwings A320 near Barcelonnette on Mar 24th 2015, lost height and impacted terrain". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  24. ^ a b c "Alps plane crash: What we know". BBC News. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  25. ^ "Flight 4U9525 'did not issue distress call'". ITV. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  26. ^ "(CNN)A quick descent. No distress call". CNN. 25 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  27. ^ http://flightradar24.com/data/airplanes/d-aipx/#5d42675
  28. ^ a b c "Airbus A320 Crash in France". BBC News. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  29. ^ a b "Live: Germanwings crash in Alps". Deutsche Welle. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  30. ^ "Germanwings Airbus A320 crashes in French Alps with 150 people on board: latest".
  31. ^ "Habría dos argentinos en el avión que cayó en Francia". Clarín (Argentine newspaper) (in Spanish). 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  32. ^ "Aussies onboard". The Guardian. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  33. ^ "Dos colombianos viajaban en el avión que chocó en los Alpes franceses". Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  34. ^ Reforma (24 March 2015). "Hay indicios de un segundo mexicano en avión siniestrado" [There are indications of a second Mexican in plane crash]. diario.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  35. ^ "ثنائي مغربي ضمن ضحايا الطائرة المتحطّمة على التراب الفرنسي". hespress.com (in Arabic). 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  36. ^ Redactie (24 March 2015). "Belg onder doden vliegtuigcrash". AD (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2015. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ Gudmund de Stordeur (24 March 2015). "Dansker blandt de omkomne i flystyrt". nyhederne.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV 2. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  38. ^ Itamar Eichner (24 March 2015). "Israeli among 150 killed in Germanwings crash named". www.ynetnews.com. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  39. ^ "Zeker één Nederlandse dode bij crash Frankrijk". nos.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  40. ^ "One Turkish-German among 150 victims in Germanwings plane crash". Hürriyet Daily News. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  41. ^ "Germanwings plane crash: Airbus A320 crashes in remote ski area of southern France, 150 feared dead". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  42. ^ "Germanwings A320 Crash Victims Include 15 German Schoolchildren, Local Media Reports". International Business Times. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  43. ^ "16 schoolchildren believed to be aboard Germanwings plane that crashed in Alps". Yahoo News. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  44. ^ "Israeli among passengers killed in Germanwings plane crash". The Jerusalem Post. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  45. ^ "Oleg Bryjak unter den Opfern des Airbus-Absturzes". Deutsche Oper am Rhein. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  46. ^ John Shammas (24 March 2015). "Germanwings Airbus A320 plane crash: First pictures of opera singers Maria Radner and Oleg Bryjak among 150 dead". mirror. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  47. ^ "Plane crashes in French Alps, 150 feared dead". Grand Forks Herald. Reuters. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  48. ^ "Live news on Germanwings Airbus crash in France". Reuters. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  49. ^ "BREAKING Crash of an A320 in south of France - more details". Airlive. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  50. ^ "150 killed in French Alps aircrash". Echo. Press Association. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  51. ^ "Image which shows first 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) temporary flight restriction area, accident location and flightpath from flightradar24".
  52. ^ "First temporary flight restriction at accident area". Notaminfo.com. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  53. ^ "Second temporary flight restriction at accident area". Notaminfo.com. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  54. ^ "NOTAM LFFA-R0750/15 A) LFMM MARSEILLE FIR B) 2015 Mar 24 19:50 C) 2015 Mar 28 12:59 E) TEMPORARY PROHIBITED AREA OVER VERNET VILLAGE - RDL 230/10NM BARCELONNETTE SAINT PONS AD (LFMR) PSN: CIRCLE OF 10NM RADIUS CENTRED ON 441648N 0062624E ENTRY FORBIDDEN EXCEPT FOR STATE FLIGHTS OR FOR RESCUE MISSIONS. F) SFC G) 10000FT AMSL". The Aeronautical Information Service (SIA). 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |title= at position 7 (help)
  55. ^ "'The plane is disintegrated': 150 dead as Airbus A320 goes down in Southern France". National Post. Toronto, Canada. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  56. ^ "Angela Merkel to travel to Germanwings crash site". ITV News. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  57. ^ Botelho, Greg; Smith-Spark, Laura; Hanna, Jason (24 March 2015). "France crash: Germanwings plane obliterated, data recorder found". CNN. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  58. ^ "Accident to the Airbus A320-211 registered D-AIPX, flight GWI18G, on 24 March 2015" (in French). Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  59. ^ "Germanwings A320 black box found in French Alps". RT. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  60. ^ "Germanwings plane black box found as investigators reach crash site". theguardian.com. 24 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.

External links

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