Alps Plane Crash: The Lines Of Investigation

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Air crash investigators are working around the clock to establish what caused the Germanwings A320 plane to crash in the Alps, killing all 150 people on board. Here are some of their likely lines of inquiry.

The Black Box

The black box – which records cockpit conversations and flight data – was recovered between Barcelonnette and Digne in the French Alps.

French interior minister Bernard Cazaneuve said that the box is damaged but still "useable", and should shed light on what happened in the moments before the plane plummeted.

Investigators are reportedly taking the box to Paris to extract the data.

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Gallery: Rescue Teams Resume Search After Plane Crash

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (3R) arrives near the crash site of Germanwings Airbus A320 near Seyne-les-Alpes, France

Gendarmerie and French mountain rescue teams fly in a helicopter near the site of the Germanwings plane crash near the French Alps

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Television news satellite vehicles are seen in front of the mountains

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Search and rescue operations restarted the day after a Germanwings Airbus A320 smashed into the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board.

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Gendarmerie and French mountain rescue teams arrive near the site of the Germanwings plane crash

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Possible Engine Failure

Sources suggest that the speed of the plane shortly before the crash - about 350mph (300 knots) - might indicate engine failure as a cause of the crash.

This is because 350mph is the speed a pilot would aim to reach before trying to "relight" the engines after a double engine failure.

The Descent

Flight 4U 9525, which left Barcelona for Dusseldorf at 10.01am (local time), had started descending one minute after reaching its cruising height.

It then plummeted from 38,000ft to 6,000ft in less than eight minutes, before it crashed.

French aviation authorities said the plane did not issue a distress call and lost radio contact with air traffic controllers at 10.31am.

Autopilot Problem

According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, airline KLM sent a message to all other Airbus customers warning about a problem with the autopilot system on board the A320 aircraft.

Dusseldorf Servicing

Reports in German media suggested that the plane had been grounded for a few hours on Monday due to technical issues.

Germanwings said the plane had a routine service in Dusseldorf, adding that it had its last major check-up in summer 2013.

Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin says French, Spanish and German authorities would formally request information about the plane's maintenance and the conditions of its flight.

Terrorism Speculation

It seems unlikely that terrorism was the cause of the crash, Mr Cazaneuve has said.

While he said it is too early to rule it out completely, the possibility of foul play appears to be slim.

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