Germanwings flight at 'abnormally' low altitude prior to crash OFFICIAL CORRECTION: The junior minister erroneously stated that the aircraft sent out a distress signal, when it fact it did not. The plane was declared 'in distress' by air safety authorities. A repeat without the erroneous soundbite, and adding another soundbite.The French junior transport minister says that the Germanwings Barcelona-Duesseldorf which crashed in the French Alps was flying at an 'abnormally' low altitude before it crashed, and that there were no survivors. Images and soundbites.