Family of the Melbourne mother and son killed in the Germanwings plane crash have spoken of their shock and sadness at their loss.

Carol and Greig Friday were spending a few weeks on holiday together before Mr Friday planned a stay in France to teach English as a foreign language when they were killed in the air disaster.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop confirmed the pair were killed when the flight came crashing down on Tuesday into a remote mountain range in the French alps killing 150 people.

The family of the Melbourne mother and son have released a statement expressing their “deep disbelief” and requesting privacy.

“Carol was a loving Mother of two, a devoted wife to her husband Dave and a sister to three brothers. She celebrated her 68th birthday on March 23rd.

“Greig was to turn 30 on 23rd April. He was a loving son to Carol and Dave and an exceptional brother to his sister Alex. He was adored by all of his family and friends.”

It has been confirmed the Australian victims were from Victoria.

For eight minutes the Germanwings Airbus A320 that crashed on Tuesday went into a steady and rapid descent from 38,000 feet until it hit a mountainside in the Alps halfway through its 90-minute journey from Barcelona to Dusseldorf.

Air crash investigators in France are preparing to examine a black box flight recorder which should hold the key to why the passenger jet plunged to earth with the loss of all 150 lives on board.

The pilots made no mayday call and did not indicate they were in distress, and appear to have been unable to do anything to correct the dive.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German foreign minister who was flown over the crash site, described it as "a picture of horror".

The first rescuers to reach the mountainside said there were bodies scattered among car-sized chunks of wreckage.

François Hollande, the French president, said there was no hope of any survivors and described the crash as "a tragedy on our soil".

It emerged last night that the Airbus, which was 24 years old and nearing the end of its operational life, had been grounded in Dusseldorf earlier in the day because of a problem with its nose wheel door.

SMH and London Telegraph with AFP