A passenger airplane carrying 148 people crashed in the French Alps today, no survivors are expected. The Germanwings Airbus A320 was en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, Germany. According to one online flight tracker, the airplane was at 38,000 feet, and plummeted for eight minutes before crashing.
French recovery crews are on their way to the remote site, according to Reuters, and German, French and Spanish authorities are working together on the response. The area will only be reachable by foot or by ski.
The crash occurred at about 10:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. ET) in a mountainous area. The Airbus A320s involved in the crash entered service in 1988. That model is generally considered to be a reliable aircraft.