The heads of Lufthansa and its low-cost airline Germanwings are visiting the site of the crash that killed 150 people, amid mounting questions about the co-pilot and how much his employers knew about his mental health.

French authorities have tonight called off searching the Alps where a passenger plane crashed with 150 people on board, including 16 schoolchildren, two babies, and two teachers.

The black box has been recovered from the site of today's plane crash in the French Alps, a French interior ministry official has confirmed.