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Germanwings Changes Its Logo Following Crash

by Kate Ward

In a corporate move that seems all too common these days, Germanwings changed its logo following a plane crash involving one of its Airbus A320 airliners Tuesday. Of course, there's good reason for the move that was made out of respect — the plane, which crashed in the French Alps, was carrying 148 passengers, all who are feared dead, according to authorities.

Officials are fearing the worst surrounding the crash as they try to piece together the puzzle regarding why the Airbus dropped 36,000 feet in 18 minutes after taking off from Barcelona, Spain en route to Dusseldorf, Germany. (According to reports, a stall doesn't seem likely in this situation — the plane would have crashed much faster if the engine failed to operate properly.) Which is why it makes sense for the airliner to drop its sunny yellow-and-red colored logo in favor of a black-and-grey logo, which properly memorializes the six crew members and 142 passengers who were on board the plane. (Though the identities of the passengers have yet to be confirmed, 45 on board are believed to be from Spain, according to the country's prime minister — French president François Hollande told reporters there were also "German and Turkish victims," while reports indicate the majority of the passengers are believed to be German.)

A look at how Germanwings altered its logo on social media Tuesday:

Germanwings, however, isn't the only airline to pay respects to crash victims Tuesday morning. Lufthansa, which owns Germanwings, also altered its logo:

Carsten Spohr, the chief executive of Lufthansa, also released a statement via its Twitter feed Tuesday morning:

We do not yet know what has happened to flight 4U 9525. My deepest sympathy goes to the families and friends of our passengers and crew ... on 4U 9525. If our fears are confirmed, this is a dark day for Lufthansa. We hope to find survivors.

Shortly after, Lufthansa confirmed the crash, saying it was "shocked and saddened" by the incident:

Sadly, this is not the first time a company was forced to change its logo over tragic circumstances. In late December, AirAsia greyed out its logo following the crash of QZ8501, which led to the deaths of 162 passengers. Though it has since reverted back to its red color, a look at how it was briefly changed to pay respects to QZ8501:

And though Malaysia Airlines did not alter its logo following the disappearance of MH370 and the crash of MH17, the airline has announced major rebranding efforts after the two incidents.