KEY POINTS:
The body of the last New Zealander killed in the Air New Zealand A320 crash off the French coast in November has been recovered.
Five New Zealanders and two Germans died when the Airbus plunged into the Mediterranean near the southern French city of Perpignan.
The remains of
four of the New Zealanders - Jeremy Cook, Brian Horrell, Michael Gyles and Noel Marsh - were returned home on Tuesday.
A French search and recovery team has now found the remains of missing Air NZ engineer Murray White.
Air NZ chief executive officer Rob Fyfe said finding Mr White had come as a great relief to his family.
"The opportunity to bring Murray home to rest in New Zealand closes a significant chapter in the grieving process for his family.
"The past week has been extremely difficult for them as they have seen the families of the other lost men have the opportunity to say a final farewell to their loved ones," Mr Fyfe said.
"On behalf of Murray's family, friends and colleagues I would like to thank French authorities for their dedication in finding all the missing men and returning them home. The effort of the French divers has been nothing short of amazing."
Mr Fyfe will travel to France with members of Mr White's family toward the end of next week to bring him home.
Yesterday, Airbus' flight safety department in France issued new safety recommendations to Airbus operators in light of the crash.
French authorities investigating the crash had recovered some details from the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, but the cause of the crash was yet to be determined.
The three-year-old Airbus A320 was due to be handed back to Air New Zealand after a two-year charter to the German company XL Airways and had just been repainted in Air New Zealand livery.
It plunged into the sea apparently after a power surge caused it to climb steeply and then dive in a move the pilots could not control.
As a result of the investigation's preliminary work and without prejudging the outcome of the investigation, the aircraft manufacturer's flight safety department in France today issued new recommendations to Airbus operators.
It said during painting and maintenance it was important to protect all aerodynamic data sensors.
It has also said that tests such as low speed tests "must be performed at safe altitude and be preceded by a recall of basic rules as regards to minimum speeds and recovery actions".
- NZPA
