EgyptAir says Flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo has 'disappeared from radar'

[Batu69]

Flightradar24

A radar map from the website of global flight tracking service Flightradar24 that shows the flight path of EgyptAir flight MS804 until it dropped off radar

Egyptian airline EgyptAir said its Flight MS804, en route from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board, had "disappeared from radar."

 

In an Arabic-language Facebook post, EgyptAir cited an "official source" as saying the flight, which took off from Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport at 11.09 p.m. Paris time, had "disappeared from radar in the early hours of day today."

 

The post said that the plane - an Airbus A320 - was carrying 59 passengers and 10 crew members. The carrier later issued a statement revising the number of passengers to 56, including one child and two infants, as well as three security personnel and seven crew members, taking the total number of people on board to 66.

 

The airline also tweeted that the plane disappeared 10 miles into Egyptian airspace - a distance confirmed by the country's Civil Aviation Authority, according to Reuters. Search and rescue teams were looking for the plane, EgpytAir said.

 

In its statement, EgyptAir said that the plane was manufactured in 2003 and that the "aircraft commander" had 6,275 hours of flight experience, including 2,101 on the same model plane. The assistant pilot had 2,766 hours of experience, it said.

 

An Airbus spokesman told CNBC that the plane-maker had no confirmed information on the flight as yet.

"We are aware of media reports and are in contact with the airline. At this time we have no further details. We will update with further information as we receive it," he said.

 

A Paris airport official said that the airport was working with French government officials to prepare a "crisis cell" at the airport to host families looking for information on passengers on board the flight, NBC News reported.

 

Reuters cited unnamed Egpytian aviation officials as saying that the officials believed the flight had "crashed into the sea." Reuters did not refer to any evidence the officials may have that that was the case.

 

Ellis Taylor, an Asia Editor at Flight Global magazine, noted the disappearance at 37,000 feet was unusual.

"Accidents are usually at landing or takeoff," he told CNBC. "Something from that height and so far into the flight indicates that something has gone quite seriously wrong on board."

 

He said that that the aircraft type has a good safety record.

Because the flight disappeared in Egyptian airspace, Taylor said he expected search and rescue operations to locate wreckage or an oil slick.

 

"It seems they have a good fix on where it was when it disappeared from radar. It should narrow down the search pretty easily," he said.

A Flightradar spokesman said that MS804 was on a normal course that was consistent with other flights bound for Cairo from Western Europe. Data from Flightradar indicated the plane's altitude didn't change significantly in the minutes leading up to its disappearance from radar.

 

Flightradar24

Another radar image that gives context for the position of EgyptAir flight MS804 until it dropped off radar, from the website of global flight tracking service Flightradar24

 

In October a Russian holiday jet crashed in Egypt's Sinai region, killing all 224 people on board.

The Airbus A321, operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet, was flying from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh when it went down in central Sinai soon after daybreak, crashing into a mountainous area shortly after losing radar contact while near cruising altitude.

 

Russia said that the plane had been brought down by a bomb, as did the U.S. and other Western governments, and the Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility. But Egypt said that its investigations revealed no sign of terrorism.

 

Reuters reported in January that an EgyptAir mechanic, whose cousin had joined IS, was suspected of having planted a bomb on the flight.

And in March, an EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked by a main who claimed to be wearing a suicide belt. He forced the plane to land in Cyprus, but authorities said later that the suicide belt was fake.

 

Article source

[vibranium]

• EgyptAir says the plane's emergency devices -- possibly an emergency locator transmitter or beacon -- sent a signal that was received at 4.26am local time, two hours after the last radar contact. Among several conflicting reports, Egypt's army denied receiving a signal from the plane.

 

• The airline said contact was lost around 16km/10 miles inside Egyptian airspace at 2.30am local time (00.30 GMT) amid growing fears that the plane came down in the Mediterranean. Airbus issued a statement regretting the loss of the aircraft.

 

• A Greek aviation source told AFP that the plane crashed 130 miles from the Greek island of Karpathos. This has not been confirmed, but Egyptian civil aviation officials said they believe the crash came down in the sea.

 

• Egypt has launched a search operation. At least eight merchant ships and French Greek aircraft have joined the search.

 

• There is no detail yet on possible reasons for the plane's disappearance. Egypt's minister of Civil Aviation, Sherif Fathy, is due to hold press conference withinthe next hour. Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any explanation for the incident, including terrorism. French prime minister Manuel Valls says "no theory can be ruled out" in investigating the disappearance.

 

 

UPDATE SOURCE