it crashed on the way from larceny barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf germany. we understand that the plane suffered some kind of catastrophic incident. it fell very quickly. one of the experts at this press conference that we were just listening to said the plane fell like a rocket in the french alps and we don't know why. we'll bring in our aviation experts, mary schiavo and les aspend is here as well. les and i were talking about this distress call. supposedly according to the experts in this news conference there was no distress call. it shays a spokesperson for french aviation authority confirms that the airplane did not issue a distress call. a distress signal was sent out by air traffic control after controllers became concerned at the loss of radio contact with the plane and the speed of the plane's descent. what do you make of that mary? >> well the fact that there may be no distress call and in london they are getting conflicting reports and there's one story out of paris and a different story out of barcelona. if there was no may day call first they s

german wings flight 9525 was traveling from barcelona to dusseldorf germany. at least 142 passengers and 6 crew members were on board that plane when it went down. the flight took off just after 10:00 a.m. local time. less than an hour into the flight the cockpit issued a distress call. according to an online flight tracker the plane descended 14,000 feet in 6 minutes. the french president francois hollande says no survivors are expected. we're following developments. let's begin with cnn senior international correspondent jim bittermann. jim, bring us up to date. >> reporter: carol, one of the things we've been watching is a visit that was previously planned here by the king of spain hao happened to be in town when all this took place this morning. the fact is 45 of the victims are believed to be spanish nationals. one of the things that he has done is in his remarks in sending out his condolences to all the families of the victims he mentioned there were german victims, spanish victims and turning turkish victims. the rescue efforts, if there is anyone to be

rosie tompkins is in dusseldorf germany. family have gathered waiting for word about their loved ones. first, erin recovery team have set up a staging area not tar from the crash site. now that we have daylight, what are you expecting? >> reporter: it appears as though the recovery force have resumed. just a short while ago, we saw four helicopters land in the field just behind me. now this was the staging area yesterday for those air efforts. this morning, the spokesperson for france's interior ministry telling cnn affiliate bfm that the recovery effort will commence again today after it had been suspended in the overnight hours due to difficult conditions. now the location of the crash site is proving to be problematic for officials. it's in a remote area. the terrain described as difficult, accessible mainly by air. the site of the crash, local officials say, is in an area that is near a steep mountainside. so causing plenty of problems for the hundreds of police officers and firefighters from france that are participatin

in dusseldorf germany. we're headed to the scene of course in france.ll follow every development live here on cnn. much more still to come. stay with me. you don't think seize the trip when you think aarp then you don't know "aarp". get inspired with aarp travel. plan and book your trip online and get hot travel tips from the pros. find more real possibilities at aarp.org/possibilities. mouths are watering, and stomachs are growling. or is that just me? it's lobsterfest red lobster's largest variety of lobster dishes all year. double up with dueling lobster tails. or make lobster lover's dream a reality. but here's a reality check: it ends soon. ...and the wolf was huffing and puffing... kind of like you sometimes, grandpa. well, when you have copd it can be hard to breathe. it can be hard to get air out, which can make it hard to get air in. so i talked to my doctor. she said... doctor: symbicort could help you breathe better, starting within 5 minutes. symbicort doesn't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden symptoms. symbicort helps provide significant

. >> this is a very short flight between barcelona and dÜsseldorf in germany.hat do you think of the route is it an established conventional route? >> it is. it is an established conventional route. the traffic system -- to work with as well as the airlines. that's common information rewarding the air space over europe. >> are there any other clues that perhaps you can gasoline from the very scant information that we've got, for instance that it rapidly ascended to around 38,000 feet and we understand there was a distress call from the plane before it was lost to radar. >> ok, and that's about as much information as we have at this present time, but we do have a lot of confidence in the french and response to accident investigation as well as the certainly and rescue efforts. as more information comes out i'm very sure that they'll make information public -- available to the public as deemed appropriate. it's just a pros that's all to work here in this terrible mishap. >> talking to us live from singapore, thank you very much indeed. let's go to our corresponde

its flight from barcelona in spain to dusseldorf in germany.rning in the alps. >> at least 150 people were onboard. all of them feared dead. families now in several european nations await word about the fate of their loved ones. french authorities are telling reuters news agency that it could take days to recover all of the victims because of the rugged terrain that they are up against. karl penhaul is in barcelona where the flight took off and jim bittermann is in paris. jim, let's begin with you. what's the latest on the search? what are you hearing from french authorities? >> reporter: the french interior minister just arrived in the area in the last hour and he took a flight over the crash area and one of the people onboard his helicopter was a french deputy, a member of parliament. he described the crash scene as covering about four acres of area very mountainous terrain. he said it would be very difficult for the searchers to get in there. they'll have to go in by foot. he said that there was no skien of life at the scene at all and he sa

crashed about an hour after takeoff yesterday morning on a flight from barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf, germany, carrying 144 passengers, and 6 crew members. today we learned three of those passengers were americans. there were no survivors. joining me now by phone, former ntsb board memberer katy higgins. katy, this just was published a few moments ago and we're all just shaking our head at the horror of this. your response? >> yeah, chris, exactly. it compounds what is already a horrific tragedy, and makes this just that much more awful. it is reminiscent in an eerie way of the egypt air crash, where the pilot took the plane, flying from new york to cairo in the ocean. and the investigation -- that accident, the pilot was found at fault. and his colleague i think was also locked out. he had gone to the restroom. >> the egypt air flight is probably the most famous example of a crash where the conclusion of an investigation, the pilot had taken the plane down as an act of murder or suicide. that finding has been contested by the egyptian authorities. other investigators have found that to be th

terry moran, abc news, dusseldorf, germany. >>> this was the deadliest crash in france in decades. >>s the search resumes molly hunter is near the crash scene in france and is joining us on the phone. molly? >> good morning, reena. the sun is up and recovery operations are started again. we are five miles from the crash site here. overnight nearly two dozen rescue workers actually spent the night, a very cold night up at that crash site. overnight, families have begun to arrive here and we expect the first bodies to be recovered from the mountain along with debris and brought back here. the debris field is some four acres. it is estimated. some searchers said they spotted debris, the size of a door or small car yesterday when we spoke to them and the kind and size of debris and how is broken up will give investigators clues how the plane crashed. later today we should get more clues from french analysts who have been poring over one of the plane's black boxes. at this hour it is unclear what condition the box was recovered. of course the black box could hold the answers and explain ho

nbc's katy tur joins me on the phone from dusseldorf germany. ipple through that small community? >> certainly a lot of sadness but also a lot of sadness in germany all around. most of the victims on that plane were german. their hearts are going out to especially that school because the kids were so young. 15 and 16-year-olds, most of them girls. 16 teenagers total, 2 teachers on that flight. they were just in barcelona for a week as part of a spanish language exchange program. the school does this every few years. sometimes the spanish kids come to germany. other time the german kids go to spain. so this is a tradition for them. it's something they certainly looked forward to. they said that this was considered the highlight of their year. so for this sort of tragedy to strike on what should be such a joyous trip has really struck to the heart of this community. the kids out there spoke to us yesterday, but today they certainly were a little bit more skittish and wary. i think as the news of the loss is sinking in it's starting to become much m

determining he had psychological issues including a psycho sew matic disorder pamela brown cnn, dusseldorf, germany>> i want to bring in an aviation psychologist from london, an experienced pilot also. professor, thanks for joining us. we learned shocking news that lufthansa airlines knew about this severe depression episode that the pilot had in 2009. do you think that the airline should have allowed eded him to fly? >> well obviously there are different kinds of depression and certainly severe depression is a disqualifying condition for most people. they would not be able to become airline pilot physicians if there is a significant history. of course it can develop in the lifetime of somebody who's already qualified. i think the issue here is whether it was treated and it was an episode that had passed or whether it was still currently an issue. whether his depression was directly and only responsible for the act he carried out is on its own unlikely. most people who have been depressed don't necessarily try to end their life and ending the life of other people is most unusual. >> of course milli

for now, let me just pivot to dust dusseldorf germany. that's the location where this plane was to have landed. fred i've got a lot for you. let me begin with the lives on board this plane. i was reading reports that there were high school students on the passenger list. what can you tell me about this group of young people? >> yeah brooke. that's the big tragedy within the tragedy, if you will. among the at least 67 germans who were killed on that flight there were 16 high school students as well as two teachers from a town about 1 1/2 hours north of where i am right now, of dusseldorf. they were on exchange in spain for about a week and were just on their way back when this tragedy happened. now, we've been in touch with the local authorities here of the state that this town is in. they have confirmed that in fact they know that the names of these people were on the passenger list. so therefore, they believe that in fact these people are also among the dead. of course this is a huge tragedy because these were these young people coming b

that's coming from a spokesman from the prosecutor's office in dusseldorf, germany. but there is no evidence that he was suicidal immediately before last week's crash. >>> and prosecutors also say that lubitz recently sought treatment for a vision problem as well. >> yeah. doctors say that was psychosomatic. >> reporter: there have long been signs of trouble. as recently as this february and again this month, co-pilot andreas lubitz had visited a clinic in dusseldorf for a diagnostic evaluation. several years back in 2009, lubitz suffered a serious depressive episode and received psychotherapy. >> he had at that time been in treatment of a psycho therapist because of what is documented as being suicide. >> reporter: around then lubitz told another doctor he was burned out, vesed about his job. "bild" newspaper also says that his flight instructors said he was not suitable for trying. turns out, lubitz had two women in his life, one a flight attendant with whom he had a short fling, and his long-time girlfriend. he met his girlfriend while working at burger king. they

. >> german wings night 9525 took off from spain and was headed to dÜsseldorf germany when it disappearedin the alps along the french riviera. it included 16 high school students. they and their two teachers were going home after an exchange program in barcelona. >> last year, we marked the 720th anniversary. the initial discovery on tuesday, the flight data recorders known as black boxes. >> i would like to tell that you a black box has been found. we will start working on it immediately. the black box will be transferred to the officer investigating it. and it will be operated upon in the coming hours. >> this crash they appeared to lose contact with french air traffic controllers for no reason. and the last aircraft maintenance inspection revealed nothing. >> it took place yesterday. and only those checks are okay if they are allowed to fly. we will do our utmost to also support the relatives and the friends. we are looking into options and be possibilities to bring them to the scene. >> some grief-stricken relatives, they are on their own with little hope or comfort. >> the airbus 832

enforcement searched the pilots apartment in dusseldorf, germany. no suicide note was discovered. documents were found that suggest an ongoing medical illness and treatment. papers including a sick note that make clear that he was hiding his illness rum his employer. what that was is still a mystery. the ceo for the airline says he passed mental health screening tests and was 100% fit the fly. he became a pilot in 2013, but was relatively inexperienced. he had just 630 hours of flight time. investigators are piecing together what happened in the final 10 minutes of the flight when he locked the cabin -- captain out of the cockpit and refuse to let him back in. he can be heard on the voice recording breathing normally as the jet wrapped 3000 feet per minute heading straight to the mountains. >> we know for a fact that some he reached up and turned that altitude selector to 100 feet. there was only one human in that cockpit and that was the copilot. reporter: the united states requires two people in the cockpit at all times. overseas airlines have announced they will do the same. ju

airbus a-320 crashed in the french alps yesterday morning on a flight from barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf germany, carrying 144 passengers and 6 crew members. today we learned three passengers were americans. there were no survivors. joining me by phone, ntsb board member, katie higgins. this was just published and we're all shaking our head at the horror of this. your response? >> chris, it compounds what is already a horrific tragedy and makes it that much more awful. very eerie egypt air from cairo that crashed into the investigation. we never record the plane and bodies because it was in the ocean but that accident the pilot was at fault and his colleague was also locked out. he had gone to the rest room. >> the egypt air flight is probably the most famous example of a crash where the conclusion of investigators that the pilot had taken the plane down affirmatively as an act of murder/suicide. that finding has been contested by egyptian authorities but other investigators have found that to be the case. here, can we talk for a moment about the protocols because there's a lot to unpack. first

. >> reporter: it is a rainy night here in dusseldorf, germany. but that is not stopping the information from coming about that horrible crash of the german wings plane at the hands, it is believed of a local resident andreas lubitz. french officials were not confirm this reported transcript is the real thing but the german newspaper which published it today has been fairly reliable on this story. we first hear lubitz encouraging the captain to take a bathroom break. and then as lubt locked the cabin and starts the plane's decent, we hear the captain pounding on the door screaming for god's sake, open the door. and worse from the very beginning, we hear screams of passengers. and that means that for eight minutes, it seems like they knew they were facing death. now there were more reports today as well about lubitz's health. that's possibly contributing factor behind this crash. he is said to have suffered from a torn retina that would limit hits eyesight that would surely lead to the possible loss of this job. and there has also been more evidenc

it was headed to dusseldorf germany. just in the spokesperson for the town of haltern, 40 miles from the destination, telling us that 16 students and two teachers from a nearby school were booked on germanwings on this flight but it has not been confirmed they were on the plane. working to confirm that information now. shortly after losing contact with french radar an hour into the flight we know the plane went down crashed here in the foothills of the southern alps, around 10:53 a.m. local time. looking at lives feared gone we want to remind you, we know 6 crew members, 144 passengers were on board, as you mentioned two of those infants, two of them babies. france's president saying the victims were german spanish, turkish. no french were on the flight. the aircraft 24 years old. rather young. and the last routine check on the plane was done yesterday, according to a carrier which by the way has an excellent safety record. as more details of the crash come in tamron condolences surfacing online an outpouring of facebook

kris van cleave, cbs news, dusseldorf, germany. >> the coo of germanwings met with family members of passengers adding it was the saddest day of his life. he said unfortunately he cannot give the family any answers why this happened. >>> the america healthcare worker treated for ebola at nih continues to improve. the patient whose name has not been released has been upgraded from serious to fair condition. the worker contracted ebola while working in sierra leone. this is the second patient doctors at nih have treated. >>> we are just getting started on wusa9 news at 5:00. the spring break capital of the u.s. has had enough of the excessive partying, what they're doing about it and what parents should know at 5:30. >> a little breezy but a very nice evening. speaking of winds, let's look at futurecast, wind gust tracker, 4:00 tomorrow winds could be gusting to 31 miles per hour downtown and also in leesburg and manassas. we'll come back, talk about if showers will accompany those winds. >> reporter: he's 98 years old in dog years and yet this four- legged friend saves his family. i'm

an active member of a trading business in dusseldorf, germany. he was in barcelona for a business meeting on the monday and caught flight 9525 on the tuesday. he leaves behind his wife and two children. a colleague who was here says that they are absolutely devastated. >> translator: his wife is saying she can't still believe what is happening now. she said, "i feel like my husband is still away for business trip and coming back soon." everybody was in tears as they watched toward the mountains. >> reporter: the residents here also say they've been tremendously affected by all of this, as well. they've opened up their doors to these families. they say they will always be welcome here, that this is their land, too, now. rosemary? >> and of course erin, as we talked about those family members wanting to get as close to their loved ones as they can. so how much progress has been made in trying to make that path to the crash site? >> reporter: yeah, well, making the road accessible to vehicle has really been a top priority of the recovery teams. we u

. >>> more breaking news, a passenger plane from barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf germany, crashed into the french alps. 144 passengers and six crew members were on board this plane. france's president says no survivors are likely. the plane was an airbus a320 similar to the one on the screen. operated by germanwings. lufthansa's budget carrier. officiales say debris from the crash has been spotted but the search and rescue operation is expected to be difficult because of plane crash in a remote area. stay with nbc 10 for continuing coverage of this breaking news. >>> and we just learned the identity of a woman killed in an accident this morning. police say 28-year-old christie massey of bensalem died in that accident. police are questioning two drivers. the accident happened at the intersection of knights and street road where nbc 10's jesse gary is live. what has -- that intersection has been open i believe, for a while now. tell us what the latest is going on there. >> reporter: well, vai, the intersection is open. you can see the traffic is moving freely behind me. but the investiga

in with his parents outside of frankfurt and also the flat that lubitz owned or stayed in in dusseldorf germany. and, sean, there are reports coming out of the british media that police may have found something in that dusseldorf flat, but we don't know what that is. nothing's been confirmed. again, as we're waiting to find out some kind of picture is being painted about why this guy did what he did. >> john, why are they so slow with the information? in other words, he had halted his training at one point. they know the reason but they won't tell us what the reason is. you're saying they might have found something in his apartment, they won't confirm that. i know the questions were asked about any religious orientation or any groups he might have been associated with. no answers there as well. >> right. >> but yet they apparently have some of these answers. why are they not forthcoming? >> well that's a good question. i mean they're continuing obviously the investigation process. you know, possibly, you know, for the families for his family, it's a good question. i don't really have the answer

we are right outside of andreas lubitz's apartment in dusseldorf germany. these officers came in plain clothes. they were inside for about an hour and a half as i point out, and they walked out, at least one of them was carrying a big box, possibly of even more evidence. there were papers in that box. we don't know exactly what was in there but what we do know is they made that discovery here yesterday. the ripped-up medical note that rene talked about, among other notes that he apparently didn't share with his employer and we also today went to a medical clinic where he apparently visited as recently as march 10th. this medical clinic the dusseldorf university hospital released a statement today saying that he had been there twice in february and in march, but that he was not treated there for depression. the prosecutor's office today would not specify whether his illness was physical or mental. despite these media reports that he was being treated for depression. so that does still remain a mystery. cnn has been speaking to people who knew lubitz. we have

when at germanwings airline flight, crash in the french alps on a trip from barcelona spain to dusseldorf germany on tuesday. during her time at drexel selke was active as vice-president of the service sorority gamma sigma sigma and she was remembered as someone who put others before herself and cared deeply for all those in her life. our entire family is deeply saddened the selke family writes about the loss of yvonne and emily selke, two wonderful, caring, amazing people who meant so much to so many. selke is noted for her service oriented spirit, and in the meantime this whole campus community is mourning the the loss of the young woman, again, remembering her as a person that put everyone else first, as this community, and they are still wondering how that plane went down. jan carabao cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >>> you can get the latest information anytime on our web site at cbs philly.com. >>> and happening today, it is septemberensing day for the the philadelphia woman quick of kidnapping and molesting a five-year old girl. "eyewitness news" reporter justin finch is live outside criminal jus

it's the cologne/dusseldorf area. western germany. highly industrialized. ly i believe the third largest airport in germany. and so it is an airport that has a lot of traffic, it has a lot of flights and the point-to-point charter flights that people use to get to places like barcelona. and of course barcelona, as far as german or european city trips concerned is one of the most popular destinations. so it's not really surprising that this airplane would have been as full as it was, with 142 passengers on it six crew members on it. it's also around the time that many germans, many europeans are going on holiday. we are right in front of the easter holidays. there are people who are taking this time to travel within europe. it is a route that's very very frequently traveled and generally, there is a lot of travel between germany and spain. spain is one of the major holiday destinations in europe. but for germans, specifically. >> we were talking about the challenges that exist for the search and rescue or search and recovery efforts. this is a google map of t

on tuesday the plane is believed to have taken off from barcelona en route to dusseldorf, germany. at 10:27, that is when they believe the plane reached a cruising altitude of some 38,000 feet. at that point it is thought that the captain got up to go to the bathroom leaving lubitz in control of the plane. the captain was somehow locked out of the cockpit on the cockpit flight recorder. you can hear the captain trying to smash down the door. you can hear the desperate screams of passengers in the final moments of that flight. now, it is believed that around 10:31 a.m. lubitz manually reset the autopilot and the plane began its descent and then by 10:40 the plane lost contact with radar at around 6,175 feet. and as we all know, the flight crashed into the french alps not far from here. george? >> erin, and just looking at your background, certainly uneasy terrain there for those recovery crews. talk to us about how the recovery is going there. >> reporter: the recovery process is still under way. just a short while ago the first choppers of the day landed in a staging area just behi

night 9525 started barcelona space, on the way to dusseldorf germany. it crashed in the french alps. all 150 are approved dead. >> a plane carrying 144 passengers including two babies and six crew members crashed into the french alps and according to authorities no one survived. >> i want to express our profound sympathies and our sorrow to the families that now are waiting. >> the airbus a320 is owned by lufthansa tweeting this morning that this is a dark day for lufthansa and changed chair colors from red and yellow to bray and black. 45 minutes into the flight the airbus a320 flying from barcelona to dusseldorf vanished dropping great 38,000 to 6,000' before crashing near a popular ski resort. >> the plane is known as being very good and passed routine investigation yesterday and now a search for answers including why it lost altitude so suddenly and why there was no distress call made. >> the moment we know what went wrong of course, there will be measurements in place to have an incident like this never happen again. >> authorities say the identiti

everyone on the flight from barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf germany, presumed dead including two babies. the cause of the crash, a mystery. germanwings says the plane descended from its cruising altitude for eight minutes before radar contact was lost and the plane slammed into the mountain. now crews struggling to recover bodies and wreckage from this snow-covered high-mountain valley where the plane went down. for the very latest let's bring in cnn's erin mclaughlin about six miles from the crash site. good morning, erin. you've seen rescue helicopters taking off, haven't you? >> reporter: we have christine. the recovery operation very much under way. the field that you see behind me a hive of activity for the past few hours, helicopters landing and taking off again. on board those helicopters, police officials as well as inspectors and specialist mountaineers. they're headed of course to the crash site which has been described as pretty grim. it's in a very remote location accessible primarily by air. the terrain there described as difficult. local officials say that when the ill-fat

the airbus was carrying 150 people from barcelona to dusseldorf, germany. french president francois hollande is warning no survivors are likely to be found. air traffic control lost contact about an hour into its flight. weather did not seem to be a factor gl. we have to investigate properly with all the professionals what went wrong. >> reporter: french authorities say reaching the wreckage in the rugged mountains could be an extremely long and difficult process. german wings is a low cost subsidiary of lufthansa. no status showed on the arrival boards as friends and family of passengers began arriving. they were taken to a nearby building as they wait for word on their loved ones. tina krause, cbs news. >> a german official said 16 high school students from spain were on that plane when it went down. a spokeswoman for the u.s. national security council says there is no indication at this point the crash is any result of terrorism. >>> it is now day three of the search for a 5-year-old boy last seen at his home in dublin, virginia. that's just west of roan

germany. holly williams is outside dusseldorf which suffered a terrible loss of life. holly, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the crash is a national crisis here in germany. 18 of them came from this high school here in this small town of haltern. they were flying home to their families after a class trip to spain. there are no classes in the high school in haltern, just grief counseling. 16 of the dead were students here along with their teachers. when we first heard the plane had crashed, we hoped our students had missed the flight said the school principal at a press conference this morning. spelled out in german a makeshift memorial simply asks the question why. the church bells tolled yesterday for haltern's lost sons and daughters in a town of just 35,000 people. nearly everyone knew somebody who isn't coming home. familyies gathered having heard the worst news possible. our thoughts and prayers are with those who lost their lives, said the german chancellor angela merkel who's visiting the crash site today but here in haltern, the grief is more personal.

scheduled to land at dusseldorf germany at 11:39. at 10:53 it began an 8-minute dissense from 38,000 feet to just above 11,000. all contact with the plane was lost at 6,000 feet. no distress call sent. >> everyone at lufthansa and germanwings is deeply shocked currently and saddened by the event. world leaders reacted to the tragedy with shock. >> translation: my thoughts are with those that lost their lives suddenly. the pain of the families is incomprehensible. >> i called german chancellor angela merkel and hope to speak with president rahoy of spain later today to express the condolences of the american people and offer whatever assistance we can as they investigate what has proven to be an awful tragedy. >> meanwhile, at barcelona's airport. visibly distraught people began the task of identifying decreased passengers. at does dusseldorf airport, it tells the story "never showed up." >> france is about 5 hours ahead of us. at first light the search for bodies will resume. because a black box flight recorder has been recovered, we

the plane was headed from barcelona, spain to dusseldorf germany when it went down this morning and our john gonzalez has been following the latest developments since it unfolded from the live desk this noon. john? john: autria, minutes ago we received an update. we can tell you that first eyewitnesses say they saw the aircraft flying very low. no smoke or strained sounds or a sign of anything wrong but at the altitude it was flying it was clearly not going to make it over the mountains. tragedy in the air. a plane carrying at least 144 passengers including two babies and six crew members crashed in the french alps and according to authorities, no one survived. >> i want to express our most profound sympathies and our sorrow. to the families that are now waiting or mourning. john: the german wing passenger jet is joined by the german giant. it vanished from radar dropping from 38,000 feet to only 6,000 before crashing into a remote area near a popular ski resort. >> the maintenance standards are worldwide known as very high. john: the company revealing this afternoon it passed its routi

a company called german wings and it slammed into a mountain during a flight from spain to dusseldorf germany. carrying 150 people including 16 german high school students all on the way home from an exchange program in spain. there are no sins of any survivors. search teams say the recover riff effort effort could take days but already found one of the plane's black boxes. >> we have to investigate properly with all the professionals what went wrong. >> lufthansa says the plane was 25 years old but underwent a routine check just yesterday. >>> wusa9 has been trying to get answers for you in the case of a confusing parking sign in columbia heights. perhaps you saw it. check out this sign in question along the 1200 block of kenyan street northwest. it says -- no parking tuesday for a two hour window. the sign attached below says except monday for basically the whole day. when we alerted ddot to this two weeks ago, they said they would send out a technician to i vail wait the sign but today, it's still there. >> do you think the sign is perhaps confusing? >> a little bit yes. >> would you feel

the plane was en route from the spanish city of barcelona to dÜsseldorf in germany when it went down.44 passengers and six crew were onboard the airbus a320. the french president francois hollande has said there are no survivors. in the past hour, president hollande made a statement about the crash. >> our thoughts are with the families of those who are suffering this terrible loss today. we are offering every means and ways possible to try and find out what happened in this accident and to find the wreckage and also bodies of the victims. the accident happened in a particularly difficult zone to get to, so rescue services will not really be able to give us results for a few hours. i want all of our different services to mobilize. >> president hollande said there were passengers from germany and turkey onboard but didn't think there were french citizens onboard. the spanish government said 45 onboard were from spain. >> i've cleared my work agenda, given instruction to say my cabinet to create a crisis management group. the team is on its way to the crash site. i've spoken to the germ

among 150 victims tied in the crash of the germanwings airline flight from barcelona spain to dusseldorf germany on tuesday. selke who graduated with honors from drexel as a music industry major had been employed at a place in alexandria, virginia. drexel is deeply saddened about the loss of alumni, em lie selke and her mother read a university e-mail. our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends. during her studies here at drexel selke was active as vice-president, of a campus chapter of the national service sorority gamma sigma sigma. selke's family who lives in virginia, also issued a statement that reads in part our entire family is deeply saddened by the the losses of yvonne and emily selke, two wonderful, amazing people, who meant so much to so many. and selke's sorority also had word of praise commemorating her, for her giving service oriented spirit. live from the drexel campus i'm walt hunter for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >> all right walt, thank you. >>> meanwhile french officials say it could be days or weeks before remains of all 150 victims from the crash are recovered. i

flight 9525 was in route from spain to dusseldorf germany. authorities say it went into a sudden steep eight minute dissent before slamming in the mountains. investigators looking in the cause of the crash have found one of the jet's black boxes. >>> stay tuned for more on the germanwings plane crash, scott pelley will have very latest on the "cbs evening news" that starts at 6:30. >>> bensalem police identified pedestrian fatally hit by two cars crossing at street and knights road earlier this morning. twenty-eight year-old cristina massey. police say massey may have cross against the light just before she was hit at 6:00 a.m. one driver stopped but a second kept going. police track that driver home in new jersey no charges have been filed. last year time magazine called street and knights road the most dangerous intersection in america. >>> a montgomery county counselor has been arrested and charged with sexually assaulting, a minor and, bernard, and allegedly, and 14 year-old female client multiple times. and, and and,. >>> and bucks count

marcy: the airbus was traveling from barcelona to dusseldorf germany when suddenly after reaching 38,000 feet the plane started quickly losing altitude. in just eight minutes, it plunged to just 6,000 feet before dropping from radar and slamming into a mountain. >> we don't know the build-up to that. things that come to mind to me are rapid decompression for some reason or a fire on board. marcy: as investigators try to figure out what happened and why the pilots never made a distress call crews are navigating tough terrain to recover the bodies of the 150 people who were on board. >> cannot leave the victim in the mountains. i think maybe tomorrow -- >> it will be soon. marcy: among the victims two babies and two americans. also 16 students and two teachers from this high school in germany who were returning from a foreign exchange program. >> it's so, so, so sad. marcy: and today, the leaders of france germany and spain visited the staging area near the crash site where teams are heading out. also, still looking for that other black box. marcy gonzalez, abc 7 news. jummy: we just learn

nbc's katy tur has the latest on the investigation from dusseldorf, germany. >> reporter: andreas lubitz was 27. a german who spoke fluent english, grew up in a picturesque town and friends say had dreams of flying. he began training with lufthansa in 2008 including time at this facility in phoenix. he was certified as a copilot in september 2013 but accumulated only 630 flight hours until officials say he deliberately crashed flight 9525 into the side of a mountain killing everyone on board. no one saw it coming. he had no criminal record no known terrorist connections. lufthansa said lubitz took a break from flight school in 2009. it hasn't said why. the ceo of their subsidiary germanwings said he was remitted a few months later after passing technical, medical, and psychological tests. investigators searched his parents' home, removing items including what appeared to be a computer, and escorting out an unidentified person. boxes of potential evidence were taken from lubitz's dusseldorf apartment. those who knew him were stunned. >> nbc's katy tur reporting. >>> the building explosion

germanwings jet owned by lufthansa was carrying 150 people on board from barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf, germany. all on board are presumed dead. we want to show you video of the airbus that crashed today. these pictures were taken last year. a safety directive about possible errors with the plane's sensors went out last year when another lufthansa flight unexpectedly dropped altitude. at least one of the plane's two black boxes have been recovered tonight. the airline held a news conference late today but had little information about what happened. >> our main focus now is really on the investigation, and of course besides that on the support of the relatives and friends of the passengers and our crew. >> of those on board, 18 were students and chaperones from this german high school. the town's mayor calls their loss the worst thing to happen to the town ever. so far there's no word of any americans on board this flight but the state department is investigating. our coverage continues on "nightly news." we're going to take a closer look at who was on board that plane, including the group of st

barcelona to dusseldorf germany. disappearing from radar, silence from the cockpit. dissint rating in the french alps. 150 knew 00 now feared dead. that plane in tiny pieces. you can almost make out the name of the airline there. families of the passengers in shock, gathering at the airport, waiting for official word tonight. on board that plane, families students headed home after an exchange program. and tonight, there is new word one of the black boxes has been recovered. we do have team coverage this evening, and we begin with abc's chief foreign correspondent terry moran at the airport in deucele gor of. >> reporter: rescuers searching, hoping for signs of life. but sifting through the wreckage in this remote mountain area some of the debris still smoldering, the plane just obliterated, it was clear. all are lost. scattered among the rocks, parts of the tail. and the fuselage. you see the plane's windows and a bit of the germanwings logo. it was supposed to be a routine flight. just after 10:00 a.m., the germanwings aircraft takes off from barcelona, heading tow

with her moth when her germanwings airline flight crashed in the trip there barcelona spain to dusseldorf germany on tuesday. one of the many friend spoke to cnn about the tragic news listen. >> i just keep saying over and over it is surreal. you always see these things on the news and you think it is horrible but you never know anyone involved. you never know anyone. the chances on have that are so slim. even yesterday morning i woke up, and on my phony had a text from a friend and i had breaking news alert about the plane crash and remember thinking wow that is really sad. i opened up my phone and went about my day. >> reporter: now the university has released a statement saying that drexel is deeply saddened to hear about the tragic loss of alumni emily selke and her mother yvonne. other thoughts and prayers with her friend and family. emily and yvonne are two of 150 people died when that plane crash. reporting live from drexel university jan carabao for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >> all right jan thank you. >>> 53:00 36789 lets check with katie for more on that storm is tell. >> this is a look

the plane took off 4:55 eastern time from barcelona en route to dusseldorf in germany, crashing near the italian boarder in france at 6:20 a.m. eastern time. 150 souls on board all presumed dead according to president hollande. we have heard from him and the ceo expressing deepest sympathies. lif tan 15 the parent company to german wings. the plane was an airbus a 320. it's believed that the plane is 24 years old and has been with luf luf lufthansa since 1991. confirmation from president hollande that all are presumed dead. thus far, access on the ground has been limited, given that the plane is around 2 kilometers up in the alps some 6,000 feet. therefore, so far, just presumption all of the lives were sadly lost but no confirmation of that fact yet. we'll bring you more as and when we get it. >> okay. >> be careful on the age of planes. not as relevant. these planes are -- they have long lives. i mean it was an old plane, i know from boeing and airbus we should not -- it's not necessarily dispositive. >> right. >> you won't -- >> if you maintain them they will last a very long time

dusseldorf when it crashed. a news conference being held in germany to update the media. >> translator: the last routine check of the plane took place yesterday, the 23rd of march, in dusseldorf by lufthansa technicians. the last regular major checkup of the plane is, according to the manuals of the airbus, this last major check took place in 2013. the captain of the plane -- >> you've been listening live to a news conference about this plane crash. we want to show you a new picture just into the newsroom showing the area where the plane went down. this picture was taken from a rescue helicopter so you can see it's a very remote area. supposed to be very hard to get to. the airline says there were 150 people on board, including two babies. we also have new video of families of passengers gathering at the airport. hard to imagine what they must be going through. the plane sent a distress signal saying emergency, emergency. people on the ground heard a loud noise moments before the crash. now, france's l.a. major commercial plane crash happened back in 2000 when an air france concord struck runway debris on paris.

it was going to dusseldorf in germany. many of the germans are dead.hat's why angela merkel is there. it was flying over the french alps. there were french citizens there so francois hollande is there. it's called the state of occurrence and it is the french that have the business the bea of france that do the investigation. >> so they'll be the primary investigating arm of this crash, right? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> because we now know that two americans died and you would think the ntsb would get involved in the investigation. >> every country under aikoa 13 to give you its full title, every country that has passengers is allowed to take part. they will see documents. it might be that the ntsb has an accredited representative. there will be avionics on board that came from american companies. the ntsb and the bea are usually involved in any major incident simply because there is an interest involved and they have the expertise. >> do we have rene marsh available? have you heard anything from the ntsb as of yet this morning? >> reporter: yes, car