the crash of the germanwings airbus with 150 on board.s is an image that's come in of the crash site. if you see closely there, a little smoke can be seen at the center of your screen. also right now the french interior minister is having a news conference. let's listen in. >> translator: we are mobilizing a variety of policemen, 300 troops. the first ones on the site today were the high mountain range policemen. they have much more intimate knowledge of the terrain and they were able to fill us in on what happened. we mobilized ten helicopters to facilitate the search and rescue. the mixture of all resources are intended to help the search and rescue mission, even in the violent shock leaves little hope for the outcome. we are still engaging in an intensive search and this is all happening under the leadership of marseilles i would like to thank you for being here today as well as your diligence. all of these resources will be coordinated by the prefecture. and any additional resources are coming from the province area as well as our def

germanwings flight 9525 crashed on its way to dusseldorf. the airbusery safe but germanwings is a budget airliner. we want to get into the safety of planes at budget airlines. >> this particular airline in 2002 the airline was developed because these small budget low-cost carriers were exploding across the continent and so this was one that was founded in 2002. now it operates short-hall routes. their maintenance is bar none. it's very good. where you see corners cut is in things you feel like size of the seat amenities. you won't get a drink on the flight or bring a bag onboard. those are corners you see. you don't see it safety. they have good safety records. the best news for these airlines has been the drop in crude oil prices. they have more money to invest in newer planes. this is not a new plane. 24-year-old plane. a lot of budget airlines have been buying newer aircraft and in this case this was an older plane. >> all of our aviation experts say a 24-year-old plane is safe to fly and should not be a problem. >> they call it the workhorse of the

reporter: recent events, the germanwings airbus and crash and the charlie hebdo terrorist attack of brought the two main shins -- nations closer together. >> events of the past day, the weeks of transformed to a kind of brotherly closeness. reporter: merkel and along also addressed international issues. >> it must be a good deal. it's important to ensure iran never gets nuclear weapons. reporter: they also demanded greece continue the fiscal reform process and that the new government produces blueprint as soon as possible. the quicker we can reach an overall agreement. in all, a rare show of friendship. anchor: melinda crane has been covering it for us. the cooperation is typically seen as driving european unity. >> a lot more smoothly than it had been during the initial phase of the president he. you heard those unusually warm words there from the president saying there was an atmosphere of brotherly affection. the chancellor explained it quite directly saying we have been put to the test in the last few months and it has brought us closer. they stood shoulder to shoulder. also, the politi

and investigators are trying to figure out just what caused that crash of a germanwing's airbus in the alps. 150 people on board. everyone on that flight from barcelona to germany presumed dead including two babies a german school group. the cause a mystery. germanwings said it descended from its cruising altitude for eight minutes before radar contact was lost and the plane slammed into the mountain. now crews are struggling to recover bodies and wreckage from the snow-covered high mountain valley where this plane went down. i want to bring you the latest this morning from cnn's erin mclaughlin. the recovery staging area about six miles from the crash. good morning, erin. >> reporter: hi christine. well that recovery effort has resumed this morning. this after it was suspended in the overnight hours due to difficult conditions. but, you know, earlier we saw some four helicopters land in the field just behind me which officials have been using as a staging operation for the air efforts. those helicopters have flown off, presumably for the crash site. we've heard from a spokesperson for

in total, 67 german citizens were aboard the germanwings airbus to be flight that crashed -- german wings'flighthat crashed in the outs on tuesday. genie: in the southeastern french alps, ben what's the latest from there so far? ben: i spoke to the spokesman from the french interior ministry, who told me that the rescue operation had resumed at the break of day. as we have heard before, this -- the location of the crash is extremely remote. i am staying in a small resort in the alps. it is about 20 minutes by car then you have to walk three hours to five hours to get there. i spoke to one of the doctors who will probably go on location who told me it will be extremely difficult to identify any of the bodies. they will have to use dna analysis. body parts will be brought here. the families will have the opportunity to see what remains of the body, if they wish to do so. genie: ben, it is just such a horrific story on so many levels for those families. many of them are coming to the town where you are. what is being done by the people there to make this terrible trip as comfortable as possible for

. >>> utterly stunning news into the crash of the germanwings airbus crash that killed 150 people this was no accident authorities say that the copilot intensely locked the pilot out of the cockpit and headed toward a mountain side in the french alps, when the pilot left the cockpit to go to the restroom locked the doors and the pilot pounded the door to come back in, the key pad was disabled by him from inside. german chancellor said that these conclusions brought the tragedy to a new incomprehensible dimension. david henry is live at philadelphia international airport, you talked to experts what have you learned. >> the consensus is never a good idea to leave one person alone in a jet airliner the incident raises questions for people traveling all over the world today, chief among them how can i be sure i'm seven alarm fire -- safe and not in the hands of a mad man. >> he said that what happened on that doomed plane would not happen on a u.s. airplane. not the law for foreign carriers,says he did not wrong but he says it's not just a bad idea -- >> if someone is going to do harm ther

germanwings airbus flight 9525 was traveling from barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf germany, when it went down over the french alps. we're just getting a statement in from the state department here in washington. the spokesperson general psaki -- we are saddened by the news that germanwings flight 9525 crashed in southern france on from barcelona to dusseldorf. we express our deepest condolences to the victims and their families. the united states stands ready to offer assistance and support to the governments of france germany and spain as they investigate this tragedy. that statement from the state department here in washington. let's turn to cnn's tom foreman. he's over at the magic wall with more on what's going on. the terrain over there is 6,000 feet elevation in that part of france. it's pretty rough. >> very rough. if you take a look at it as we fly into the terrain here and take a look at it we'll bring up some of the mountains of the french alps here. you can see as this changes angles these are serious mountains out here. they're not as tall as the colorado rockies but are stil

since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 commercial aircraft including germanwings airbus a-320, have a nearly impenetrable cockpit door. >> after 9/11 what we were trying to do is make sure the bad guys couldn't get into the cockpit. they reinforced the door where you couldn't even blow it off the hinges. >> reporter: there are strict lock-down procedures in case of emergency. >> the new reinforced phase two cockpit door -- >> reporter: as this airbus demonstration video explains once the cockpit door is locked from the inside -- >> this code pad provides increased security levels. >> reporter: a digital code is required to get back in. >> the red light is lit confirming the door is locked. >> reporter: but even then the pilot inside the cockpit can block re-entry for five minutes. >> of course along with that comes the problem, what happens if you need to get into the cockpit and nobody inside is able to let you in? or worse, a situation like we have here when are somebody's denying access? >> reporter: u.s. regulations require two people always remain in the cockpit. if one pilot exits, a r

>> an airbus a320 goes down in france with 150 people on board, the french president says there are no survivors. ♪ >>> hello, i'm darren jordan with our continuing coverage here of the germanwingslane crash. let's just give you more details. the airbus crashed with 150 people on board it belonged to the budget airline germanwings, with which is a subsidiary owned by lufthansa. debrings has been found at an altitude of about 2,000 meters. it's tough to get to and rescue crews aren't expected to arrive for sometime yet. 144 passengers and six crew were on board the airbus a320. the french presidents says there are no survivors. let's take a look at an animation that has been create by the website air journey. you can see the flight as it takes off from barcelona. it gains altitude to 38,000 feet, but as it crosses the french coast, it begins to drop dramatically taking just a few minutes to fall to 6,800 feet in the french alps. >> translator: our thoughts are with the families of those who are suffering this terrible loss today. we are offering every means to find out what happened and also the bodies of the victims. it happened in a particularly difficult zone to get to. to res

the germanwings airbus was flying when something went terribly wrong. plane climbed 32,000 feet. there it stayed for 60 seconds before it began a deep descent which lasted for eight minutes without a distress call. >> we have to investigate properly with all of them with what went wrong. >> either way were trying to solve the many problems they face order they simply were unable to. you must remember the pilot must first try to solve the problem apsd then communicate. >> there is no more pieces. there is nothing. the plane has totally disappear. the degree field is in a high remote area making retrieval of bodies and wreckage difficult and snow is in the forecast. . but crews have already located one of the plane's flight recorders which could give clues to its final minutes. the news hit especially hard in germany where 16 high school students and two teachers were expected to return from an exchange program in spain. >> i am and the whole town are very shocked at this moment. >> reporter: airline officials would not speculate at the cause of the crash

the jaw-dropping announcement that the co-pilot of that germanwings airbus purposely flew the plane along with 149 innocent people into a french mountainside has touched off a string of questions starting with why on earth. it may have been the last thing investigators expected to hear on the cockpit voice recorder, the sound of the captain who had briefly left the cockpit pounding on the door as the plane rapidly descended to the ground. and the screams of passengers as they realize their fate. what was the motive, who was the co-pilot and how did he do it? and how was this allowed to happen? we're covering it all tonight. let's begin with bill neely in southern france. bill, we are all left sick over this. >> reporter: yes, indeed. good evening, lester. this was one of the most stunning announcements in aviation history. what we still don't know is why the co-pilot did it. how he did it is now clear. in total silence he deliberately programmed not just his own death but the deaths of his colleagues and of his trusting passengers. the harrowing search for the remains of the dead intensif

the players were supposed to be on the germanwings airbus that crashed but hours earlier they decided to switch flights. it was a change of plans that saved their lives. the team's sporting director tweeting you can say we were very lucky. now, stay with abc news for the late latest on the tragedy in the alps and have an update later on this broadcast and team coverage on "good morning america." >>> a pair of tragedies at home two officers killed in the line of duty. in california a veteran san jose police officer was killed. he responded to a call about a man threatening suicide. when police arrived on the scene, they were met by a hail of gunfire. one officer struck and died at the scene. san jose's mayor calls it the city's darkest hour. >>> a state trooper died exchange of gunfire with a suspected bank robber in wisconsin. the trooper was following the vehicle when it happened in the fond du lac. the suspect is also dead. it's believed he was involved in at least one attempted bank robbery and possibly a fatal carjacking. >>> millions of people in the midwest are bracing for more

the big story on "action news" is the mystery of why one of the pie plots of the ill-fated germanwing's airbus locked out of the cockpit. investigators revealed the voice recorder has the sound of the pilot first gently knocking on the door but there's no answer. then he knocks louder. and finally you can hear him try to smash the door down. was the other pilot unconscious because of a catastrophic medical event? depressurization or a willful act? the plane descended 38,000 feet and crashed into the french alps killing all on board. one of the victims was a graduate of drexel university and dann cuellar is on campus tonight. >> the campus is on spring break right now but the students would remain are saddened to hear that one of the victims was a recent drexel grad. and learning more about emily selke and her mother who died when the plane crashed. drexel university announced that 23-year-old emily selke graduated with honors and a music major. and on board the germanwing flight travelling with her mother, yvonne. >>> >> and even though i didn't personally know her i feel sad. >> drexel is dee

david kerley. >> reporter: since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 commercial aircraft including germanwings airbus a320 have a nearly impenetrable cockpit door. >> after 9/11 what we were trying to do is make sure the bad guys couldn't get into the cockpit, so they reinforced the door to where you couldn't even blow it off the hinges. >> the new reinforced phase two cockpit door. >> reporter: as this airbus demonstration video explains, once the cockpit door is locked from the inside, a digital code is required to get back in. but even then the pilot inside the cockpit can block re-entry for five minutes. >> but, of course, along with that comes a problem. what happens if you need to get into the cockpit and nobody inside is able to let you in or even worse, a situation like we have here where somebody's denying access. >> reporter: u.s. regulations require that two people always remain in the cockpit. if one pilot exits, a relief pilot or a flight attendant must take their place. this was not the policy of germanwings. some international carriers including air canada and norwegian air are changin

information emerged today about the young co-pilot who authorities believe deliberately flew a germanwings airbusinto the side of a mountain in the alps. all 150 people on board were killed. for the latest, we are joined by jack ewing of the new york times. he joins us tonight via skype from montabaur germany where the copilot was from. so what do we know today? >> good afternoon. the latest as my colleague in paris has determined, he had sought treatment for vision problems some time before the crash. so that suggest that's perhaps his ability to fly was in question, and perhaps gives us some idea what his motivation might have been. and he had concealed this from his employer. >> sreenivasan: and we've got these reports that perhaps his long-term relationship ended just the day before this crash? >> i've seen that speculation. i haven't been able to confirm it myself. we know he had a girlfriend. what the status of the relationship was, whether there was any problems, i haven't been able to determine that with certainty. >> sreenivasan: so the doctors' notes that he had did that include the day

the final moments of the germanwings airbus. locked the pilot out of the cockpit and flew into a mountain deliberately. the copilot is a 28-year-old german who began flying as a teenager and had been with the airliner since 2013. to copilot went to the same screening is everyone else according to the parent company, lufthansa. >> they know we select cockpit personnel very carefully because this is a part of our dna. alix: he was fit to fly. greek bank deposits by households and businesses fell by 5% last month. the february deposits were the lowest in 10 years. the ecb made $1 billion available to greek lenders earlier this month. adidas is going big city when it tries to catch up with nike. the sporting-goods company will shift spending in new york and lending because that is where trends are set. adidas will cut the amount of time it takes to get new sneakers in stores. the doors opened on the a2 of san francisco for a sex discrimination case that has captivated silicon valley. ellen pao is suing finer perkins -- kleiner perki

in clear skies, with no hint of trouble, the germanwings airbus a-320 descended into a mountain at nearly miles an hour. we have a team of correspondents on the story. first we'll go to mark phillips in france. >> reporter: from the break of dawn and all day long they flew ferrying medics and investigators to the crash site. their mission-- find the dead and try to find out why they had died. it's as difficult a crash scene as is possible to imagine a remote mountainside, the wreckage and the victims striewb down a 60-degree slope and over a 10-acre site. among the discoveries though the cockpit voice recorder damaged in the high-impact crash, but according to french air accident investigator remi jouty, still readable. the pilots' voices are heard but a lot more analysis is needed. >> reporter: until the voice recorder is fully decoded and until it's matched up with the plane's other black box the flight data recorder chas had not yet been found investigators won't speculate on the causes of this tragedy. there was further detail, as well, on the flight's final moments. from its brief ti

the investigation into the crash of the germanwings airbus has just begun.erman interior ministry says there are no signs that a third party was involved. all 150 people on board were killed, two americans were among the passengers. the record terrain is making recovery efforts difficult. another sign of strength in the real estate market. mortgage applications rising by 9.5% last week after dropping the week before. markets rates are at historic lows. yesterday, new home sales hit a seven-year high. a new twist in the most bitter rivalry in pro football. the new york jets have accused the patriots of tampering after the patriots' owner said he would have loved to keep the quarterback who signed with the jets. next falls games should be interesting. still to come on "market makers," shares of kraft pop at the open after a deal with heinz. we will see if it is having an impact on the market. ford is rolling out new performance models. the hottest city for luxury hotels. money is no object in london. matt: american express parting ways with costco, which accou

germanwings airbus flight 9525 was traveling from barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf, germany when it crashed. the flight took off just after 10:00 a.m. local time. that would be 5:00 a.m. local time here. according to an online flight tracker, the plane descended 14,000 feet in six minutes. everyone onboard that flight is feared dead. authorities say because of the mountainous terrain reaching the crash site will be very difficult. i want to begin with cnn senior international correspondent jim bittermann. bring us up to date jim. >> reporter: carol, french officials established right away after this plane went missing crisis center and the prime minister and a number of other members of the cabinet are coordinating the efforts from paris. but down on the scene now there are about 200 searchers and rescuers and the area has been sealed off now. it's the first step toward an accident investigation. the teams from the french crash investigating authority are on their way down there as well. they have double reason to be interested in this plane. not only did the crash happen on french territor

french prosecutors hate was not a next and that brought down the germanwings airbus.opilot locked the pilot out of the cockpit and then deliberately flew the plane into a mountain. that was the conclusion after investigators listen to conversations and other sounds from the cockpit voice recorder. they heard the pilot tried to break down the cockpit door as the plane was in its rapid ascent -- descent. diplomats in switzerland say negotiators want to conclude a framework agreement over iran's nuclear program by march 29. robert einhorn joins me. welcome to "bottom line." thank you for your time today. all this information we are hearing today about a possible not a deal, but some sort of agreement by marched when he what should a framework look like? robert: in has to deal with all the critical elements of the deal. it is not going to flesh out all the technical details but all the critical nature issues need to be resolved. the actual deadline is march 31, tuesday, although some of the diplomats may wish to finish earlier. it should not be a foregone conclusion that

now the doomed germanwings flight was an airbus a320.t is well known by aviation analysts for its strong safety record. >> it is. and there are several thousand of these planes in operation around the world. miguel marquez take a closer look now at the history of this type of aircraft. >> reporter: worldwide more than 3,600 airbus a320s are flown by more than 400 airlines charter companies, and private entities. eight american carriers combined have more than 450 a 20s in n fleets. among the biggest, jetblue with 130. united has 97. daley and u.s. airways -- delta and u.s. airways 9 each. in the short to medium range world, the a320 is second only to the boeing 737 which has delivered more than 1,000 of their medium sized planes. airbus says every 2.5 seconds, a plane from one of its 320 family is taking off or land somewhere in the world. the plane identified as germanwings flight 9525 had been in service since 1991 when it took off from barcelona. airbus says it had approximately 58,300 flight hours and some 46,700 flights. >> this pla

are we talking about lufthansa or germanwings airbus and mark chris: we are talking -- airbus?we are talking about german wings primarily. the impact is being felt in some way for german wings. some of the pilots yesterday refused to fly a320's and that is partly in response to the impact the psychological impact i suppose, of the events of yesterday morning. moreover, there might well be a significant knockback from passengers who are booked on german wings. at the moment, there are reports that people are changing their travel plans. the possibility of that will increase over time dependent on what the results of the black boxes produce. anna: i know you said that we don't know what caused this. rescuers have said they are working on the assumption that this is an accident. is there anything you read that leads you to doubt that? chris: none whatsoever at the moment. you can only ever characterize an aircraft accident as an accident until you know differently. it has to be said that all aspects of this incident will be investigated, whether there was anything untoward that oc

the ceo of germanwings airbus company lufthansa. >> but for now, in this dark hour, our thoughts and feelings and prayers are with the relatives of the passengers and of course our crew. cory: spanish and german officials are joining hundreds of french firefighters and police trying to recover bodies. the search will resume tomorrow morning. the plane went down in a remote area that is difficult to access. president obama backed off from plans to cut the size of military force in afghanistan. the president agreed to keep troop levels at the current 9800. president obama: it's the judgment of general campbell and others on the ground that providing this additional time frame, for us to be able to help the afghan security forces succeed, is well worth it. cory: the president is still sticking to his timetable to withdraw nearly all u.s. troops from afghanistan by the time he leaves office in 2017. the president spoke also about the iranian nuclear deal in talks in switzerland this week. take a listen. president obama: i'm confident if there is an agreement, it will be a good agreement

the germanwings airbus copilot who apparently crashed flight 9525 on purpose was suffering from an unspecified mental illness, according to a person familiar with the matter. investigators found a note in the desultory flat of the copilot, saying he was unfit to work on the day of the crash. that note was not submitted to the airline. lawyers say the families of the victims will be able to seek unlimited amounts in settlement from the airline because of the apparent suicide. intel is in talks to acquire a fellow chipmaker. shares of the company soaring on the news. the purchase of altera would be the longest -- largest acquisition in intel's history. the sec has proposed opening military radar or wasted civilian smartphones and tablets. fcc chairman tom wheeler says he will put it to the other commissioners. steps will be taken to protect. we continue our coverage of the jury case in the ellen pao discrimination case. let's go to cory johnson. he's outside san francisco superior court. cory: thank you. we appreciate the headlines. let's talk about what just happened here. the jury had a verdic

just on the plane itself it was a germanwings airbus a320 workhorse and done a lot of takeoffs and landings i think 48,000 takeoffs and landings in its 24 year life span and 64 hours flown as well. what are you hearing about the service, the recent service history of this flight. there are some reports today suggesting there had been a fault to the door with the landing gear. have you been able to glean any more information about that? >> reporter: that's right. this plane, we understand was grounded before takeoff due to problems with the door opening the landing gear. this is all speculation. we haven't had this confirmed by the airline. what we do know is one day before the flight took off, it underwent a routine safety check. it's 24 years old, approaching the end of the 24 year life span for any commercial airliner. germanwings have been keen to reassure passengers arriving here today, this airline has a remarkable safety record no accidents in its entire history. an a captain who had been with them for 10 years had 6,000 hours experience. the black box has now -- one of the black boxe

the germanwings airbus a320 took off from barcelona after 10:00 yesterday on a two hour might to dusseldorfhed cruising altitude. highjacking or terrorism is unlikely. >> an inmate would escaped from jail has expanded beyond the city. this is the man, alexander santiago-gonzalez escaping while on trash detail. he was beingers courted by a sheriff deputy when he slipped away. he was arrested in santa cruz county in may and considered "dangerous," but in a security level that let him go to unsecured areas. >> it is classified this way. the investigation will determine more information. >> this is the second time in ten months a prisoner escaped from jail. an inmate took out the trash and he ran and he was later captured at a homeless shelter. >> the biggest game golden for a once in a life celebration. >> new facebook feature letting you relive the most popular photos and post all over. >> a backed up bay bridge toll plaza with traffic and check out my breakfast! eggs... sausage... ham... bacon... cheese... and sourdough bread. uh, mine's easier. get a load of jack's loaded breakfast sandwich

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 investigation into this fatal pedestrian vehicle accident is ongoing. detectives say around 5:45 this morning, bensalem resident miss massey was walking north on knights road crossed against the red traffic signal and was hit

french alps are on hold until daylight when they will continue scouring the remote area where a germanwings airbusent down presumably killing all on back board. betterberndet ruled out terrorism. but they say authorities there aren't ruling out the possibility that terrorism played a role in this horrific crash. fox news senior foreign affairs greg palkot has our report. >> lou, the latest word from french officials is that they have recovered one of the black box recorders from the crashed plane. and they will be examining it, in their words, immediately. there is a lot to look at. >> disaster in the french alps. a germanwings airliner crashing into the side of a mountain. it's believed all 150 on board were killed. >> our thoughts and prayers are with the relatives of the passengers and of course, our crew. >> the plane left barcelona at 10:00 in the morning. 5:00 a.m. eastern. shortly after it reached its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet, it started a steep descent reaching 6,000 feet in ten minutes. that's when it lost contact with air traffic control and crashed spreading bodies and debris ac

the ceo of germanwings airbus company lufthansa. >> but for now, in this dark

a germanwings airbus crashed with at least 150 people onboard. it is very unlikely that anyone has survived. most of the passengers, we're told, were from spain, germany and turkey. trying to get updates on that front. the flight crashed 45 minutes after takeoff going from barcelona on its way to dusseldorf, germany. holly, you had a really fascinating interview with someone who knows that area so well where it's believed this plane went down. a local mountain guide in the french alps. what did he tell you? >> he basically described the terrain. he said the reported crash site would be inaccessible to emergency vehicles and the only way to get there would be to chopper rescue officials and rescue workers in. this complicates the situation quite a bit because he said that low cloud formation is sort of enveloping that mountainous area where we believe the plane went down. he has eyes on choppers he was telling me a few minutes ago that are military helicopters, police helicopters, fire department helicopters as well. he said he witnessed at least

. >>> an intense search to find the remains of those on board germanwings 9525. the airbusvestigators examining the plane's cockpit voice recording to figure out what went so wrong. live team coverage bringing you every angle of that story begins now. welcome back to "early start." i'm christine romans. 30 minutes exactly past the hour. this morning the cockpit voice recording black box has been recovered. and investigators are trying to figure out what caused the crash of a germanwings airbus a320 that crashed into the french alps with 150 people on board. everyone on the flight from barcelona, spain, to dusseldorf germany, presumed dead including two babies. the cause of the crash, a mystery this morning. 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 are struggling to recover bodies and wreckage from the snow-covered high-mountain valley where this plane went down. let's bring in cnn's erin mmc mclaughlin at the recovery staging area about six miles from th

the germanwings airbus was traveling from barcelona spain to dusseldorf, germany. nbc's barry aaron has the latest. >> reporter: an airbus a-320 operated by luft hans sa's discount germanwings crashed in the french alps. it was traveling from barcelona to dusseldorf. the head of the airline reported after the plane reached cruising altitude it reached a descent for about eight minutes until the crash. family of the passengers gathered at dusseldorf airport to hear about loved ones. 16 germans were on board, including students and teachers. the mayor was emotional as he discussed the loss. >> translator: i can assure all of you, without a doubt, that this is the worst day in the history of our city. >> reporter: friends and family of the 45 spaniards believed to be on the flight headed to the barcelona airport to receive updates. >> translator: we will do all possible to help the families and give them all our support and attention. >> reporter: rescuers at the crash scene said wreckage from the plane was strewn across the mountain. a spokesperson from lufthansa sai

. >>> the state department confirmed today three americans were on board the germanwings airbus that crashed yesterday. there were no survivors. investigators are analyzing the black black boxes but they won't say if they learned what went wrong. more on the investigation and the 150 lives that were lost. >> reporter: debris from flight 9525 is scattered across a steep ravine. recovery efforts complicated by the rough terrain. the case of the black boxes found empty today. investigators are working on the cockpit voice recorder. [ speaking foreign language ] >> we have a usable audio file but it is too early to draw conclusions. >> the plane went down tuesday as it traveled from barcelona to duesseldorf. citizens from a dozen counties on board. authorities do not believe anyone survived. >> i can confirm the death of u.s. citizens. we are in connect with family members and we extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the 150 people on board. and a third u.s. citizen was on board the flight. >> reporter: there have been tributes to those on board the flight. a mom

could be starting any moment. 150 on board this germanwings airbus 320 when it went down in the southernldorf in germany. germanwings says it does not have yet any information on what caused the crash. the president of france francois hollande spoke saying there are likely no survivors, although that's yet to be officially confirmed. the chancellor of germany, angela merkel speaking a short time ago saying her thoughts are with the victims, she will be heading to the crash site tomorrow. the human impact very evident with families and loved ones of those on board gathering at the airport in barcelona where the plane took off and the airport in dusseldorf where it was scheduled to arrive. joining us live from paris ann curry for nbc news. we await this press conference. thank you for being with me. talk to me about what's the very latest? >> reporter: the very latest as we just heard word that search and rescue teams have now arrived on the site as you have been reporting this morning. this is a very remote location for the plane crash, and as a result we do know there were hellicopters f

. >>> the co-pilot of the germanwings airbus has been blamed for deliberately crashing the airplane.er explains. >> reporter: this is the actual airbus a320 involved. the key question is why an airport apparently operating normally would desend for eight minutes and crash into the alps. the cockpit voice recorder was recovered, and that saw attention turn to the front of the plane. the recording suggests the captain left the cockpit most probably to use the bathroom. the co-pilot then locked the door and crashed the plane deliberately. how is that possible? this is an airbus training video. here they explain how a locked cockpit door can be opened by entering the security code. >> captain? >> obtaining no response she decided to use the emergency procedure. this triggers the timer for 30 seconds. >> reporter: after that time if there's no response from the cockpit, the door unlocks itself for five seconds. but there is a way for the pilot to lock the cockpit if there is anything wrong outside. >> i don't think this is the normal procedure, i prefer to lock the door do you agree? >> y

an awful lot of questions as to what might have happened to the germanwings airbus a320 that was in route to germany. it hit a cruising altitude of tlat,000 feet but according to the german authorities, only stayed there for about a minute before beginning a rather orderly descent down to 6,000 feet, and that is at the point we believe the plane impacted a mountain. rescue authorities say there does not appear to be any survivor. we believe also including 16 school children from germany. investigators are going to be anxious to grab the black boxes. they're the cockpit voice recorder and the flight reporter. it's hoped those two key pieces of data and information will tell them what was happening to the plane and inside the plane, specifically inside the cockpit in the moments before this plane went down. we do know that the airbus a320 is a work horse of a plane, flown around the world. 6,000 of them have rolled off the assembly line. you'll find them in almost every country and it's a well flown plane and a very heavily computerized planes with multiple redundance anceanceyredundancies.

. >> reporter: authorities say they don't have an explanation why the "germanwings" airbus lost altitudeench alps shedding into pieces. french president francois hollande says the casing of the plane's second black box has been found but not the flight data recorder itself. hollande, german chancellor angela merkel and the spain prime minister made a joint appearance near the crash site to thank first responders and express their condolences to the families of the 150 victims. the crash site can only be reached from the air so emergency crews are staging here about 8 miles from where the plane went down. three of the victims are americans including a u.s. contractor from virginia and her daughter. most passengers were from spain and germany including 16 students and two teachers from the same high school in the small germantown of haltern. the school's principal says nothing will be the way it was at our school anymore. tina kraus, cbs news, seyne-les- alpes, france. >>> an american soldier who walked away from his post in afghanistan has been charged with desertion. bowe bergdahl desert

. >>> a search is under way for the second black box of the germanwings airbus that crashed into the french alps yesterday. >> we learned three americans were among the 150 people on that flight and one had ties to our area. emily selke dprad waited from drexel university in 2014. she and her mother were from virginia. nbc has new details from france. >> reporter: here in the region of southern france, the mystery continues of what caused the crash of the germanwings fly on tuesday morning. it was flying from barcelona to dusseldorf and suddenly out of the blue for no particular reason it just crashed in the mountains. now, we were expecting some information to come out of a black box that was found yesterday from investigators, but during a press conference in pair pa risris, they said it would take days if not weeks to find the cause of the crash. >> we just succeeded in getting an audiophile which continues usable sounds and voices. we hope to have a rough idea in a matter of days. >> reporter: the second black box has not been found yesterday. president hollande said only the fra

. >> the new details about the copilot of the germanwings airbus, and paul, what do we know about andrea lubitz? >> we're starting to fill it in a little bit. here's what we know so far about the 28-year-old. the chief executive of lufthansa said that andre lubitz began his training in 2008. and he learned to fly in germany and arizona and there was a gap for several months in his training, which is not usual. when the flight took off from barcelona on tuesday, lubitz was 100% fit to fly. he joined germanwings the low cost carrier in 2013, out of flight school, and so far he had been a pilot for 18 months, and people who knew him said that he seemed to like his job. today, they went to his home in northwest frankfort looking for anything that would explain the motive behind the crash. he underwent a regular pilot security check back on january 27th, and nothing unusual there either. the reaction in his hometown is what you would expect, shock and sorrow. >> it is an unusual situation because you just don't expect something like that can happen. especially in your own neighborhood. it is