Germanwings air crash puts spotlight back on flight safety

THE shocking crash of a German jetliner in the French Alps on Tuesday, killing all 150 passengers on board, is another body blow to the aviation industry.

The tragedy, involving the budget airline of Germany's national carrier Lufthansa, is the latest in a series of high-profile accidents over the past 12 months that have clouded a period of unprecedented success in global air safety.

At this stage, there are, naturally, more questions than answers as to what exactly happened to Germanwings Flight 4U 9525. Why did the Airbus A320 plane, which was en route from Barcelona to Dusseldorf, suddenly g…