Snow, Gusty Winds to Slow Recovery of Crashed Germanwings Airbus

By Jillian MacMath, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

March 24,2015; 9:12PM,EDT

 

 

An Airbus A320 carrying 150 people en route to Dusseldorf, Germany, from Barcelona, Spain, crashed in southern France Tuesday morning.
It was not immediately known what caused the incident.
The aircraft, flown by Lufthansa's low-cost carrier Germanwings, went down near the town of Barcelonnette about 100 km (65 miles) north of Nice, according to Reuters.

  Lufthansa        ✔ @lufthansa Follow

We must confirm to our deepest regret that Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Düsseldorf has suffered an accident over the 1/5

8:48 AM - 24 Mar 2015

 

  Lufthansa        ✔ @lufthansa Follow

French Alps. The flight was being operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, and was carrying 144 passengers and six crew members. 2/5

8:48 AM - 24 Mar 2015

"Near the crash site, conditions were partly sunny with generally light winds at the time contact was lost with the plane," according to AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Eric Leister.
All onboard are believed to have been killed, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in a statement.
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ActuSecours @ActuSecours

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[DIRECT] #crashA320 - Une partie du dispositif de #Secours se met en place sur la commune de Seyne-les-Alpes - #ORSEC

8:36 AM - 24 Mar 2015 Pompiers.fr and GendarmerieNationale
France's Interior Ministry confirmed that debris from Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 has been found in the mountains 6,500 feet above the crash site, according to the Associated Press.
"The weather is going to be deteriorating near the crash site [into Wednesday] as a storm system moves into the region, producing rain and high-elevation snow," Leister said.
Winds are forecast to strengthen Tuesday night into Wednesday, as the recovery effort resumes.
Additionally, the remoteness of the area and limited roadways may make it difficult for crews to access the site, Leister said.