Aircraft still XL and had not been handed back to Air NZ
LATEST: The search for survivors of a crashed Air New Zealand Airbus A320 – carrying five New Zealanders and two Germans – has been called off for the night.
The plane crashed off Perpignan, in southeast France, about 4.45am (NZ time) today. It had been undergoing maintenance checks at Perpignan airport before a test flight ahead of a return to New Zealand.
The New Zealanders on the flight included two airline engineers from Christchurch, an engineer from Auckland and a pilot from Auckland, all working for Air New Zealand. A New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority expert was also onboard. All are presumed dead.
The Airbus was being flown by two XL Airways pilots aircraft. The Air NZ-owned plane had been leased by XL for the past two years and was being tested ahead of its return this week.
Jean Dunyach, head of Civil Security at the Prefecture in Perpignan, told Stuff.co.nz that the search had been called off for the night, in heavy seas, and would resume at 5am local time. The area is 12 hours behind New Zealand.
“Unfortunately, the conditions are very difficult, it is raining, there are 30kms of wind with big waves and operations have been complicated further because it is now dark,” he said in a telephone interview.
He did not believe there were any survivors and confirmed that bodies of two of the seven crew had been recovered, although not yet identified. They had been transferred to the morgue at Perpignan Hospital, where a member of the French Transport Ministry, Dominique Bussereau was expected tomorrow.
“It is a difficult night for the rescuers… the remaining bodies may well be in pieces.”
Mr Dunyach said the maximum had been done this evening to locate the missing crew members, with five rescue boats, 17 specialised divers, a helicopter and a search aeroplane scouring the scene. Thirty divers were expected tomorrow when he hoped the black box would be retrieved from the wrecked aircraft, currently 40m underwater.
He said the New Zealand and German embassies had been told of the accident and families were being informed. He did not believe there were any survivors.
"It is too early to speculate about the reasons for the crash, only the black box can tell us."
There was a strong feeling of solidarity amongst the local fishermen from the Le Cannet en Roussillon area, as they had been asked to help in the rescue effort.
Better weather was forecast for Friday (French time), and although some were quite shocked by what had happened they were only too happy to lend assistance, he said.
Both the New Zealand and German Embassy have been notified about the accident and the Prefecture was keeping staff closely informed.
Earlier, a French journalist had said searchers battled the dark and strong wind and rain to find survivors.
However, he said there was no hope of survivors.
"It's not really clear on what happened … the plane was flying for one hour and a half and suddenly fell down to the sea," he told Radio New Zealand.
"There was no explosion, it was flying (at) 300m and suddenly fell down into the sea, but no explosion."
There were many witnesses, and emergency services were quickly at the scene.
The aircraft was believed to be 45m deep in the sea and divers would try and recover the black box tomorrow.
Some wreckage was floating on the surface, but the pieces were "very difficult to find because of the big waves and the dark".
A surveillance plane, two rescue helicopters and five ships scoured the seas around the crash site about 3km from the shore. About 20 specialist frogmen also took part in the operation.
SOMBRE MOOD
The mood at Air New Zealand and CAA headquarters in Wellington was sombre this morning, as staff waited for news from France.
The aircraft was owned by Air New Zealand and had been on lease to XL Airways for the past two years. It was four years old and when delivered and had flown for Freedom Air for about a year before being leased.
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe said it was being flown to Frankfurt, where it was due to be handed back for a ferry flight back to New Zealand this week.
"Naturally, this is an extremely difficult time for us all and the full resources of the airline are being put into investigating what may have happened and providing support to our people and their families," he said.
Fyfe said he had not given up hope of finding survivors. He had briefed Prime Minister John Key.
The pilot was a very experienced captain, "which is typically what we want when we are going through one of these acceptance processes. We have our most experienced people ensuring the aircraft is up to Air New Zealand standards".
Several staff were waiting in Frankfurt, Germany, to take over the aircraft on its flight back to New Zealand.
The crash comes 29 years to the day that an Air New Zealand DC10 crashed into Mt Erebus, killing all 257 passengers and crew.
Mr Fyfe said today was already very poignant for Air New Zealand because of the Erebus tragedy and the anniversary added a new dimension to the tragedy.
PRIME MINISTER
A spokesman for Prime Minister John Key said he would hold a press conference early this afternoon in Wellington to talk about the crash.
"This is obviously a tragic situation for the families of the people killed and also for the airline. We are in touch with Air New Zealand and the Civil Aviation Authority."
Transport Minister Steven Joyce said the Government was getting regular updates, and seeking briefings from officials.
“The Government is getting briefings from Air New Zealand and the Civil Aviation Authority.
“Obviously the New Zealand Government has grave concerns and is being updated on developments.”
Mr Joyce said it is premature to comment on what shape any investigation might take, although he fully expected New Zealand agencies to play a part.
“But our thoughts right now are with the families, friends, and colleagues of those who were on board.”
AVIATION AUTHORITIES
CAA spokesman Bill Sommer said the authority was still waiting on confirmation there had been no survivors, and the names of the people involved.
"Till that happens we won't be making any comment," he said.
The CAA investigator was in France to recertify the plane for its return to New Zealand. The certification engineer was on the trip as part of the process by which aircraft and handed over from the European operator.
Mr Sommer sad he did not know when they would hear, but he was hoping it would be as soon as possible.
The CAA was not involved in investigating the crash, which he expected was being led by French authorities with German assistance.
It was possible New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission might be involved. The Commission was not available for comment.
Aviation and Marine Engineers Association national secretary George Ryde said all engineers on temporary assignment in France were association members.
The mood among its members was "sombre", he said.
"People want information to help them deal with it," Mr Ryde said.
So far there were no clues as to what went wrong with the flight, he said.
The association would be offering support "in any way we can" to the family, friends and colleagues of those who perished in the crash, he said.
Mr Ryde said there were about eight Air New Zealand engineers on temporary assignment in France.
AIRBUS
The jet had been undergoing servicing at EAS Industries in Perpignan and flying circuits for 90 minutes before it crashed, an emergency services spokesman said.
Six French aviation accident investigators and two from Germany were being sent to help an inquiry with experts from the French civil aviation authority (DGAC) and Airbus.
Airbus said it delivered the jet in July 2005 and it had carried out 2800 flights with about 7000 hours of use since then. The constructor gave no details of the accident.
There are about 3700 A320 jets in service with almost 3000 more to be delivered. Air New Zealand own two Airbus aircraft, and lease 10.
Their average age is four years, and they seat about 150 passengers