BBC: Flight #4U9525 initially climbed to 38,000 feet before it started to descend and lost signal at 6,800 feet.
Crew of the Airbus A320 plane made a distress call at 10:47 am (0947 GMT) as the flight from Barcelona to Duesseldorf passed over the French Alps.
The plane then disappeared from radar screens and fell to earth.
Authorities do not know the reason for the crash, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says.
Paris (AFP) - 13:42 GMT - GERMANWINGS CREW DID NOT SEND DISTRESS SIGNAL: AVIATION OFFICIAL.
Video of rescue area: http://snpy.tv/1EEcmz8
Paris (AFP) - Helicopters shuttling - A little aerodrome in Seyne-les-Alpes, usually used as a departure point for gliders, has been transformed into a heliport from where helicopters are shuttling to and from the crash scene, local chemist Françoise Barande tells AFP by telephone.
Thomas Winkelmann, chief executive Germanwings speaking at a press conference said:
Contact between the plane and French air traffic controllers broke off at 10:53 (9:53 GMT) at an altitude of approx 6,000ft. The plane then crashed.
The last routine check and inspection of the aircraft took place on 23 March in Duesseldorf -the technicians were from Lufthansa.
Last regular inspection was carried out in summer 2013.
The captain has more than 10 years of experience with Lufthansa and Germanwings, and more than 6,000 hours of flying Airbus models.
To protect family members and cabin crew the list of passengers will not be released immediately.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she will travel to Germanwings crash site Wednesday, has agreed to work with France and Spain to investigate cause - @Reuters
Confusion now about distress signal or lack of one.
SKY News: President of a local French council, Gilbert Sauvan, says debris is spread over 100-200 meters (110-220 yards). DGAC - controllers declared a distress phase for the flight.
BBC: There was some speculation in German media that a computer glitch caused by frozen sensors could have forced the plane into a steep dive. However, Germanwings has confirmed the A320’s computer systems had been updated and do not believe this could be a cause.
Frequent fliers here can answer this, but isn’t 45 minutes a long time to reach cruising altitude ?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/germanwings-airbus-a320-crash-live-5390012
Crash ‘not a terrorist attack’
The crash of a Germanwings Airbus in a remote area of the French Alps today does not appear to have been caused by a terror attack, the White House said, according to a report by Fox News.
“There is no indication of a nexus to terrorism at this time,” the cable network quoted White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan as saying.
As yet there is no explanation for the crash that has killed 150 people.
First reaction from the White House (Propaganda Central)- Not Terrorism. Basically before the wreck has even been reached.
148 adults and two little babies...
Anyone else got their tin foil hat on thinking about the pilot of missing Malaysia flight mh370? Its a bit after the anniversary, but because there was no communication it came to mind.
was there any unusual cargo?
cash
gold
diamonds
artwork
thermite
mangosteens
?
is it me, but there has been quite a few planes going down lately.