150 Killed in French Alps Plane Crash; NFL Approves New Safety Measures.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Porat gives up the title on Wall Street, though. It's industry that we haven't yet seen its first female CEO. I do like her mantra. She hates that phrase work/live balance. She says she likes to find a satisfying mix between work and family.</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, yes, there's no such thing as work and life balance. It's never ever in balance. No one knows -- everyone knows it's never in balance. All right. Thanks so much, Alison. EARLY START continues right now.</s>ROMANS: Happening now: an intense search to recover remains of those on board Germanwings Flight 9525 crashing into the French Alps, with 150 people on board. Investigators now examining the plane's cockpit voice recording to figure out what went so wrong. Live team coverage breaking down the search, the investigation and now mourning those killed. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans. It is Wednesday, March 25th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East. John Berman is in Washington all week. This morning, the cockpit voice recording black box has been recovered. And investigators are trying to figure out just what caused that crash of a Germanwings Airbus A320 in the French Alps, 150 people onboard. Every one on that flight from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany, presumed dead including two babies. The cause of the crash a mystery this morning. Germanwings said the plane descended from its cruising altitude for eight minutes before radar was lost -- radar contact was lost and the plane slammed into the mountain. Now, crews are struggling to recover bodies and wreckage from the snow-covered, high mountain valley where this plane went down. For the very latest, let's bring in CNN's Erin McLaughlin. She's in the recovery about six miles from the crash site. And good morning, Erin. You've seen rescue helicopters taking off, haven't you?</s>ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have, Christine. The recovery operation very much under way. The field that you see behind me, a hive of activity for the past few hours, helicopters landing and taking off again. Onboard those helicopters, police officials as well as inspectors and specialist mountaineers. They're headed, of course, to the crash site which has been described as pretty grim. It's in a very remote location, accessible primarily by air. The terrain there described as difficult. Local officials say that when the ill-fated plane crashed, it was pretty much obliterated, wreckage strewn over a wide area including human remains. Germany's foreign minister flew over the site yesterday. He said it was a photo of horror. And that is what these recovery officials are going to be working with later today. One of their top priorities, of course, is beginning to try to identify the 150 victims that were on board that plane as well as begin the repatriation process. So far, no bodies have been recovered. They're also going to try to be answering all of the questions about how this could have happened. Earlier this morning, we heard from France's interior ministry. He said that yesterday, they had recovered the flight cockpit voice recorder. He said that it had been damaged, but they hope to have it fixed in the coming hours -- Christine.</s>ROMANS: All right. Erin McLaughlin, thank you for that. Again, damaged voice recorder, but they hope to have that fixed soon. Thank you. Passengers aboard Germanwings Flight 9525, they came from all over, as well as a handful from South America, Asia, Australia. Nearly half of them, at least 67 were German. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, she says the crash has plunged Germany, France and Spain into deep mourning. Today, she will travel to the crash site. 16 students and 2 teachers on that flight were returning to the town of Haltern near Dusseldorf. They had been on a week-long foreign exchange program in Spain. And now, Haltern is in mourning. CNN's Rosie Tomkins is near there in Dusseldorf. She has the very latest -- Rosie.</s>ROSIE TOMKINS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine. Yes, I'm at the airport in Dusseldorf where of course this flight was intended to, as its destination, before the terrible tragic crash occurred. This is where many of the families headed on Tuesday when they received the news of the crash in order to try and get some answers. And of course, they had their worst fears confirmed when they found that their loved ones had indeed been onboard. They set up a crisis center here at the airport for those family members in order to provide support where they could psychologists help them with the trauma of this loss. The airline has also offered to fly family members to the region in the French Alps, should they want to get closer to the site just to be nearer to the location of the crash where their lost loved ones are. And meanwhile, it's a nation in mourning. As you mentioned, 16 students from the school, in the town of Haltern, just 80 kilometers north of here, and that town feeling the tremendous impact of that loss. Two teachers were also on board the flight. The mayor of the town appeared in public yesterday, visibly shaken and emotional, talking about how shock was felt throughout the town, that you could feel it everywhere. Also, these two opera singers that we now know were on board, they were also from the Dusseldorf region, returning home from a series of performances in Barcelona. One of them, Maria Radner, was on board with her husband and her baby. One of those two babies you mentioned that were on board. So, as these details emerge, names and faces which are bringing personal focus to the tragedies with the wide numbers that we're hearing and really bringing that focus sharper. But as you said, 67 German nationals, that's the number at the moment. And Germanwings saying that number could change as more details emerge -- Christine.</s>ROMANS: OK. Rosie Tomkins in Dusseldorf, thank you, Rosie. The king of Spain canceling his state visit to France to return home this morning. The Germanwings flight originated in Barcelona, and a count of Spanish surnames suggests about 45 of the passengers may have been Spanish nationals. Still no official count, though, from officials in Spain. Mourning along with those families in Haltern, Germany, are the residents of this small Spanish town where the German students attended that exchange program. Hundreds gathering at a mass to remember their new friends. CNN's Karl Penhaul is there with the very latest. Good morning, Karl.</s>KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. This is the Spanish school, we're outside it now, where those 16 German students spent the last week studying. Now, while they were studying, they were also being hosted by Spanish families. They were forging friendships here. They were learning the language. They were continuing friendships as well because only three weeks ago, a group of Spanish students had traveled to Germany to study there and stay with German families. So, today, those friendships now come to an end with this accident. And on hand, members of the Red Cross, they're giving some kind of support to some of the students, some of the teachers, some of the parents that are inside the school right now. And they will commemorate their lost friends in about half an hour from now in some kind of short remembrance service. But as well, while this is going on here, of course, Lufthansa continuing to sift through the passenger lists to figure out the exact nationalities of who was on board and to give us a better breakdown. Again, back in the Barcelona airport, a crisis center has been set up. And there psychologists also on hand to help a group of about 150 friends and relatives who showed up there yesterday, work through this trauma, give them the support they require. And as we already know, a very varied group of people on board that flight. As far as the Spaniards who lost their lives, many of them seem to have been business executives who were heading to Germany for some kind of trade fair. And, of course, remember Barcelona, a very cosmopolitan city. It's a big draw for tourists on longer vacations and also on short weekend stays. It's also a favored destination for northern Europeans who come to this area of Spain looking for a little bit of winter sun. So, certainly, a tragedy that has affected many nations and many generations as well, Christine.</s>ROMANS: Oh, yes, Karl, it's a snapshot into how modern air travel has been able to unite so many different people. And you look at the budget airline boom over the last decade or two, and Europe in particular, on this particular airline, you know, the fee structures anywhere from 33 euros to 149 euros. So, really, Karl, you could have people from all walks of life on that plane.</s>PENHAUL: Yes, absolutely. I mean, here in Europe, we think nothing of showing up at the airport, buying these budget tickets. It's the cheapest way to get around. Often, it's even cheaper than taking the train, certainly cheaper than paying to put the gas in your car. So, really, nothing untoward. Yesterday afternoon, in fact, I was talking to some more passengers boarding one of the later Germanwings flights and said to them, you know, have you got any fears about getting on this flight now? It's a budget flight. We know there's been an accident this morning. They say, look, you know, it is the way we get around Europe now. It just seems so normal to us. And, you know, it's something we have to deal with. But I don't think people are necessarily concerned about the safety record of low-cost flights, Christine.</s>ROMANS: Yes, I think you're right. Karl Penhaul, thank you for that this morning from Spain. Nine minutes past the hour. A Lufthansa spokesperson says the airline will no longer use Flight 9525. Lufthansa is the parent company of Germanwings. And that's the number of the Germanwings flight that crashed yesterday, killing all 150 on board. So, does low cost mean low safety? Let's talk about it a little more with CNN money correspondent Alison Kosik. Alison, you heard what Karl was saying. People are still getting on flights right after this one. Does low cost mean less safe?</s>ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: The experts that we spoke with at CNN money say they are not less safe. They are safe. Budget airlines, yes, they cut corners on things like convenience, like your legroom, like getting your drinks, charging you for your bag. But experts say they do not cut costs on safety. Now, one thing they do do, though, is pay their crews less than other airlines. That includes pilots. But that doesn't mean the pilot is not safe or it can't fly the plane. It just means that the pilot is simply less experienced. And the planes themselves are well maintained. You know, one expert put it this way, saying that safety is really the biggest advertisement for an air carrier.</s>ROMANS: Yes, in this particular case, this pilot was very experienced. He had ten years' experience. So at least initially, investigators aren't concerned about the experience factor in the cockpit. What about the safety records, then, of the low-cost carriers?</s>KOSIK: You know, industry-wide, it's really a good track record. You look at European discount carriers. They've actually got strong safety records on par with the industry as a whole. Germanwings specifically has a very good reputation. It was launched by Lufthansa in 2002 to compete with Ryanair and easyJet. And Lufthansa has one of the best safety records in the world. Now, the plane that crashed yesterday, the Airbus A320, is also one of the safest and most used in the world.</s>ROMANS: It's so interesting, too, the decline in oil prices means so many of these airlines have more money to invest in newer planes and to give their employees raises. So they have been seeing an economic boom of late. But clearly, the safety issue -- a lot of people talking about these flights that have gone down over the past year. Thank you so much, Alison. Nice to see you. Happening now: the rift widening between the U.S. and Israel. President Obama with new criticism this morning of Prime Minister Netanyahu. Plus, a new plan for U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan, next.