Air New Zealand Airbus A320-232 plane crash

An Air New Zealand passenger jet on a test flight with seven crew aboard has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, off Saint-Cyprien (France), killing at least two people. The five other people are reported missing.

The crashed Airbus A320 had been undergoing maintenance checks at EAS Industries in Perpignan, before it took off on a test flight for roughly one hour. The plane returned to Perpignan after having completed the flight, and while on approach to Perpignan Airport, the plane crashed in the Mediterranean sea, 7 km off the French coast.

The plane had just been returned to Air New Zealand after flying for XL Airways. Maintenance operations performed by the EAS company was part of the process to return the plane to its owner.