#indeepsorrow: After plane crash, Germanwings, Lufthansa change logos to black and grey

Low-cost carrier Germanwings has changed its logo, normally maroon and yellow, on both Twitter and Facebook to a black and grey one as a sign of mourning after it confirmed that the airline’s Airbus A320, carrying 144 passengers and 6 crew members on board, did indeed crash in a remote area of the French Alps as it flew from Barcelona to Duesseldorf.

Even parent airline Lufthansa darkened its logo on Twitter and its logo is running with the hasghtag #indeepsorrow.

“Everyone at Germanwings and Lufthansa is deeply shocked and saddened by these events,” the companies said in a statement, offering a telephone hotline to all families of the passengers involved.

“We must confirm to our deepest regret that Germanwings Flight 4U 9525 from Barcelona to Düsseldorf has suffered an accident over the French Alps. The flight was being operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, and was carrying 144 passengers and six crew members. Lufthansa and Germanwings have established a telephone hotline. The toll-free 0800 11 33 55 77 number is available to all the families of the passengers involved for care and assistance. Everyone at Germanwings and Lufthansa is deeply shocked and saddened by these events Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the passengers and crew members,” Lufthansa said in a statement.

Meanwhile several Germanwings flights have been cancelled after crew members declared themselves unfit to fly after the crash.

The management of Germanwings has termed the crew members’ decisions as “personal” and “understandable”.  It was more important to ensure psychological assistance to the crew, said senior airline executives.

“We understand that on a day like today, they wouldn’t feel able to fly,” Germanwings’ Managing Director Thomas Winkelmann told German broadcaster ZDF.

“It is now more important to ensure psychological assistance if needed. And we will get back to a full flight operation as soon as possible then. But for me, this is rather secondary now,” said Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr in Frankfurt.

There was no obvious reason why the plane went down.

Capt. Benoit Zeisser of the Digne-le-Bains police said there were some clouds in the region but the cloud ceiling was not low and there did not appear to be turbulence.

In addition, the safest part of a flight is when the plane is at cruising elevation. Just 10 percent of fatal accidents occur at that point, according to a safety analysis by Boeing. In contrast, takeoff and the initial climb accounts for 14 percent of crashes and final approach and landing accounts for 47 percent.

The A320 plane is a workhorse of modern aviation. Similar to the Boeing 737, the single-aisle, twin-engine jet is used to connect cities between one and five hours apart. Worldwide, 3,606 A320s are in operation, according to Airbus.

The A320 is certified to fly up to 39,000 feet but it can begin to experience problems as low as 37,000 feet, depending on temperature and weight, including fuel, cargo and passengers.

The A320 family also has a good safety record, with just 0.14 fatal accidents per million takeoffs, according to a Boeing safety analysis.

In a live briefing Tuesday, French President Francis Hollande said it was likely that a number of the victims were German. He said it was not clear whether anyone on the ground had been injured by the crash.

“It’s a tragedy on our soil,” he said.

The last time a passenger jet crashed in France was the 2000 Concorde accident, which left 113 dead — 109 in the plane and four on the ground.

Later Hollande spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to express his condolences. Merkel was “deeply shocked” by the crash and cancelled all other appointments for the day, her spokesman said.

“In these difficult hours, our thoughts are will all those who must fear that their relatives are among the passengers or crew,” German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, adding his ministry had set up a crisis unit and was in close contact with French authorities.

The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation was sending three people to France to join the investigation. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, the country’s top security official, and the German ambassador in Paris were among those heading to the crash site.

In Madrid, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suspended his agenda to preside over an emergency government meeting about the crash and also talked with Merkel.

“Like everyone, I lament this incredibly sad and dramatic accident,” Rajoy said.

Antonio San Jose, spokesman for the Spanish airport authority AENA, said his agency was working with Germanwings to reach out to relatives of the victims.

Spain’s king and queen, in Paris on Tuesday, canceled their previously planned state visit and offered their condolences to all who lost a loved one in the crash.

With inputs from AP