in the alps, in any mountains. if you're below altitude and if you're below where you're supposed to be in the sky, that's always a danger and it certainly suggests that something's wrong. >> particularly in mountainous regions, it suggests they were having a problem, most likely a mechanical problem. >> we're hearing that a distress call was picked up from this flight from this a-320 airbus. we don't obviously know yet what they said. but that that sort of fits into the narrative that you're following. that if they were below altitude they knew something was wrong. >> some of the facts is that it went from 38,000 feet to 24,000 feet in seven minutes. it was reported that it was descending at a rate of 3,440 feet per minute. what do those numbers mean to you? >> well that's a fast rate of descent. you know it's not one that would cause the plane to come