Airbus A320 - Air New Zealand Craches In Mediterranean Sea

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Airbus jet crashes in test flight

One person has been killed and six are missing after an Airbus A320 aircraft crashed during a test flight after maintenance work, officials have said.

The plane went into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of France near Perpignan with seven people on board.

One body has been recovered and search aircraft and ships are looking for the missing people.

The plane's fuselage has been located, a French rescue official told the Associated Press news agency.

The plane was last owned by XL Germany and was being returned to an aircraft leasing company.

XL Germany said there were two flight crew from XL Germany and 3-5 engineers on board. (In other -unconfirmed- news reports it is mentioned that the plane now belongs(ed) to Air New Zeland; LP)

The plane was undergoing maintenance checks at Perpignan airport.

The A320 is one of Airbus's most popular single aisle passenger jets.

-BBC Europe

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Air New Zealand test flight crashes into Mediterranean

An Air New Zealand passenger jet has plunged into the Mediterranean off the French coast during a test flight, killing seven people on board.

By Henry Samuel in Paris; Last Updated: 7:24PM GMT 27 Nov 2008

An Airbus A320

The Airbus A320 was seen flying low over the sea shortly before the crash near Canet-en-Roussillon, just north of the border with Spain. It had taken off from the southwestern French town of Perpignan on a test flight after undergoing "routine" maintenance.

Five New Zealanders and two Germans, all technicians, were on board.

The damaged fuselage of the plane was quickly located and one body recovered at sea.

The cause of the crash is unknown.

Launched in 1988, the A320 is one of the best-selling jet airliner families of all time. There are currently 3,500 of the medium-range planes in operation.

It was the first airliner to introduce a fly-by-wire flight control system - where control inputs from the pilot are transmitted to the flying surfaces by electronic signals rather than mechanical means. It has an excellent safety record.

The crash followed more bad news for Airbus, a French company. China postponed talks on finalising a deal for 150 of its passenger planes – including 110 A320s - amid anger over President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to meet the Dalai Lama next month.

China has also cancelled an EU-China summit scheduled for Monday.

- Telegraph UK

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Two dead, five missing as N.Zealand jet crashes into French sea

1 hour ago

PERPIGNAN, France (AFP) — Rescuers found the body of two crew members but five others were missing Thursday after an Air New Zealand passenger jet plunged into the Mediterranean Sea off France, officials said.

The wreck of the Airbus A320 has been located off the southern city of Perpignan, where it had been undergoing maintenance and from where it had taken off, but there was no sign of any of the five missing crew.

The plane was on a flight to check that it was operating normally when it crashed into the sea, said officials in Perpignan.

A major rescue operation was under way, with a surveillance plane, two rescue helicopters and five ships scouring the seas around the crash site 3.5 nautical miles (2.5 kilometres) from the shore.

-AFP

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08.50AM By MICHAEL FIELD - Stuff.co.nz | Friday, 28 November 2008

Five New Zealanders in Air NZ plane crash

LATEST: Seven people - including five New Zealanders - were onboard the Air New Zealand Airbus A320 which crashed off the coast of France this morning, reportedly leaving no survivors.

HORROR SMASH: An Air New Zealand A320 - seen here in a file pic - has crashed in Southern France.

It is understood three bodies have been recovered. Radio New Zealand is quoting the French Coastguard as saying there are no survivors.

An Air New Zealand captain and three engineers, as well as a New Zealand CAA inspector, were onboard the Airbus.

At a press conference this morning, Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe said he know not know the status of the New Zealanders but the company, and CAA, were liaising closely with the families of those onboard.

"We have grave concerns for the situation."

The captain on the plane was described as a very experienced pilot.

Mr Fyfe said the aircraft had been leased to German company XL Airways for the past two years and had undergone maintenance in anticipation of a return to New Zealand at the end of this week.

The plane took off on a technical flight from Perpignan, France, this morning (NZ time) destined for Frankfurt in Germany. It was flown by two XL Airways pilots.

After a brief touchdown it crashed into the Mediterranean.

The plane is in water and a search and rescue operation is underway. Planes and helicopters as well as a coastguard ship are scouring the area around the crash site.

The crash happened on the anniversary of the Air New Zealand DC 10 crash into Mount Erebus on November 28, 1979, in which 257 people died. Mr Fyfe said it was a very poignant day for the airline.

- Stuff nz

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Divers recover Airbus cockpit box

French search divers have recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the Airbus plane that crashed in the Mediterranean killing all seven people on board.

The black box was to be dried out in Paris before data was retrieved, said Air New Zealand's Ed Sims.

Four of the airline's staff, one aviation official and two German pilots were on the plane. Only two bodies have been found off the Perpignan coast.

More than 40 divers have been searching the sea for bodies and wreckage.

Mr Sims said the recorder appeared to be in a good condition.

"This marks a significant step in the process of understanding what caused this tragic accident.

"French authorities continue to put every effort into the recovery operation."

Family visit

They will continue to search for the flight data recorder, he added.

Airline officials and family members have travelled to France, as well as representatives from the airline's investigation unit, the New Zealand police, and New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission.

The plane, built in 2005, was leased by Germany's XL Airways from Air New Zealand, and was undergoing checks after a refit before being handed back to Air New Zealand.

AFP news agency said some of the debris had drifted towards the Spanish coastline, about 20 miles (30km) from the crash site.

Airbus said the plane had been built in 2005 and had accumulated about 7,000 hours of flying time.

The A320 is a single-aisle aircraft that can seat about 150 passengers and is one of the most popular Airbus jets in use.

-BBC NEWS: 2008/11/29 23:13:50 GMT

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