An Air New Zealand Airbus A320 aircraft on a test flight crashed into the sea off France's southwest coast today, killing at least one person with a further six still missing, officials said.
The plane aircraft crashed at around 4.00pm Irish time off the coast near Perpignan.
The A320 is manufactured by Airbus, a unit of European aerospace group EADS.
"Seven people were involved. We have recovered one dead body," said a spokesman for the Pyrenees-Orientales prefecture.
The Pyrenees-Orientales prefecture said the plane was on a "technical flight" and was being serviced by a company based in Perpignan, a southwestern city on the Mediterranean coast.
Officials from the DGAC, the French civil aviation authority were checking reports of the crash.
There was no immediate comment from Airbus, a unit of European aerospace group EADS.
Reuters