Germanwings says plane crashed after eight-minute descent

Rescue helicopters from the French Gendarmerie and the Air Force are seen in front of the French Alps during a rescue operation next to the crash site of an Airbus A320. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

MARSEILLE,  (Reuters) - Germanwings said its Airbus A320 aircraft that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday started descending one minute after reaching its cruising height and continued losing altitude for eight minutes.

"The aircraft's contact with French radar, French air traffic controllers ended at 10.53 am at an altitude of about 6,000 feet. The plane then crashed," Lufthansa unit Germanwings' Managing Director Thomas Winkelmann told journalists at a news conference.

Winkelmann also said that routine maintenance of the aircraft was performed by Lufthansa Technik on Monday.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi; Writing by Maria Sheahan)