An EgyptAir aircraft en-route from Paris to Cairo has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, according to Egyptian and French authorities.
The A320 was carrying 56 passengers; including one child, two infants, and 10 EgyptAir employees, including three Egyptian security officers, according to France transport chief Alain Vidalies.
An informed source at EGYPTAIR reported that EGYPTAIR Flight No MS 804 has lost communication with radar tracking system at 02:45 (CLT)
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) May 19, 2016
Flight MS804 left Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport at 11:09 p.m. Paris time on Wednesday evening. The A320 was flying at a cruising altitude of 37,000 feet and disappeared from radar at 2:45 a.m. Cairo time, 10 miles (16 km) before entering Egyptian airspace, EgyptAir said.
Live: #EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo crashes in Mediterranean https://t.co/H2nBksvGbm #EgyptAirMS804 pic.twitter.com/gLlCd1uOOl
— FRANCE 24 (@FRANCE24) May 19, 2016
Egypt’s aviation minister Sherif Fathi said the crash was more likely caused by a terror attack than mechanical failure, but nothing has been confirmed.
Earlier reports stated that military search and rescue teams detected an automated distress signal from the plane’s emergency beacon at 4:26 a.m. local time, but Egyptian military has denied a distress signal was received from MS804.
Egyptian military denies #EgyptAir claim that a distress signal was received from MS804
Latest: https://t.co/GhpGsEwUal— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) May 19, 2016
Ehab Mohy el-Deen, head of Egypt’s air navigation authority said: “They did not radio for help or lose altitude. They just vanished.”
EgyptAir has confirmed 30 Egyptians, 15 French, one British, one Belgian, two Iraqis, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and one Canadian were on board the aircraft.
EgyptAir plane crashed off Greek island of Karpathos: Greek source CORRECTS link: https://t.co/30pYOLJuMn pic.twitter.com/vjs9rVF1wt
— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 19, 2016
Greek and Egyptian armed forces are involved in the search for the plane. France says it is sending planes and boats to assist operation.
The French military says a Falcon surveillance jet monitoring the Mediterranean for migrants has been diverted to help search for an EgyptAir flight that crashed in the area.
Video of the sea search operations taking place near #MS804 latest reported position #EgyptAir #SAR https://t.co/H9iKdGqQ9x
— MarineTraffic (@MarineTraffic) May 19, 2016
Paris’s city prosecutor has also opened an investigation into the plane’s disappearance. “No hypothesis is favored or ruled out at this stage,” the office said in a statement.
According to EgyptAir, the pilot had logged 6,275 flying hours, including 2,101 hours on the A320. The co-pilot had logged a total of 2,766 flying hours.
Those concerned about relatives can call an EgyptAir hotline on 0800 7777 0000 from any landline in Egypt and +202 25989320 from outside Egypt.
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