Tragic Air New Zealand disaster off southern France - 29 years to the day since worst disaster in Antarctica...

Tragic air disaster yesterday off Perpignan in southern France as Air NZ Airbus A320 plunged into the Mediterranean Sea. It was 29 years to the day since New Zealand's worst air disaster in 1979 in the Antarctic, where an Air NZ DC10 crashed into the side of Mount Erebus killing all 257 passengers and crew onboard.

Five New Zealanders and two German pilots were killed as they air tested the aircraft before the hand back to the airline after a two year lease with XL Airways in Germany.

"It was flying straight then turned brutally towards the ground," a witness stated. The plane went down into 40 metres of water. The black boxes have been located in the sea and will be removed for inspection.

The reasons for the disaster are unknown at this stage but will be revealed later when information from the black boxes is collated.

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