In 1963, a French engineer built a hovercraft on rails Floating on a cushion of air, Jean Bertin's Aérotrain set a world speed record in 1974.

Germanwings plane crashes in southern France: police MARSEILLE (Reuters) - An Airbus plane operated by Lufthansa's Germanwings budget airline crashed in southern France on Tuesday en route from Barcelona to Duesseldorf, police and aviation officials said. The local La Provence newspaper said the Airbus Read more ... A320 was carrying 142 passengers, two pilots and four cabin crew, citing aviation officials. Germanwings and Lufthansa were not immediately available for a comment. Airbus had no immediate comment. (Reporting by Nicolas Bertin, Jean-Francois Rosnoblet and Sabine Siebold; Editing by Mark John and James Regan)