Egyptair plane missing over Med

[bb1]

http://news.sky.com/story/1698511/egyptair-jet-disappears-over-mediterranean-sea

EgyptAir Jet Disappears Over Mediterranean Sea
The jet made no distress call and was 20 minutes from its destination when it vanished with 66 on board, including one Briton.

An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo is thought to have crashed into the sea with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board - including one British national.

Flight MS804 departed the French capital at 11.09pm (CEST) before vanishing.

The airline said the plane lost contact with radar at 2.45am Cairo time (1.45am BST). Its final contact with air control was 10 minutes earlier.

At that stage the Airbus A320, which was 13 years old, was about three hours and 40 minutes into the four-hour journey and flying at 37,000ft.



The airline said the plane had been 10 miles into Egyptian airspace, over the Mediterranean Sea, when it disappeared.

However, Egyptian civil aviation authority spokesman Ihab Raslan told Sky News Arabia that it was about to enter Egyptian airspace when it disappeared.

He said the plane had most likely crashed into the sea.

Military search and rescue teams picked up an automated signal from the plane's emergency beacon at 4.26 Cairo time (3.26 BST) - around 90 minutes after it was supposed to land in Cairo.

Thirty Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis, a Belgian, Kuwaiti, Saudi, Sudanese, Chadian, Algerian, Portuguese and Canadian were among the passengers which also included one child and two babies.

Greece has joined special teams from the Egyptian armed forces in the search for the jet

It has deployed one C-130. an early warning aircraft and a frigate, while helicopters are on standby.

Meanwhile, an aviation source said the Civil Aviation Ministry was working to gather information on the technical state of the missing plane.

Greek civil aviation authorities said the jet disappeared off its radar two minutes after leaving its airspace. Prior to that, its air traffic controllers spoke to the pilot who reported no problems.

Ahmed Abdel, the vice-chairman of EgyptAir holding company, told CNN there had been no distress calls from the plane.

The New York Times quoted Ehab Mohy el-Deen, the head of Egypt's air navigation authority, as saying: "They did not radio for help or lose altitude. They just vanished."

The airline said the plane's pilot had flown 6,275 hours - including 2,101 hours on the same model - while the co-pilot had done 2,766 hours.

Sky News Middle East Correspondent Sherine Tadros said: "This is a popular route, this is a time when people would have wanted to make that trip for business reasons, for personal reasons."

With its ancient archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a popular destination for tourists.

But its tourism industry was badly hit following the downing of a Russian jet last year with the deaths of all 224 on board, the ongoing Islamist insurgency and a string of bomb attacks in the country.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "Following reports that Egypt Air flight MS804 has gone missing en route from Paris to Cairo, we are in urgent contact with the local authorities in Paris and Cairo to obtain further information"

More follows...

[bb1]

http://news.sky.com/story/1698511/egyptair-jet-disappears-over-mediterranean-sea

A Greek frigate searching for an EgyptAir jet which disappeared mid-flight from Paris to Cairo has discovered two large floating objects in the Mediterranean.

Greek defence officials told Reuters pieces of white and red plastic were spotted close to an area where a transponder signal was emitted earlier.

The discovery came as Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said the plane was more likely to have been brought down by a "terror attack" than a technical fault,

A search is under way for the jet which disappeared with 56 passengers and 10 crew on board - including one British national.

[lily]

This is a tragic story and which appears to be a case of terrorism?

[bb1]

It's certainly looking like terrorism right now, Lily, unless something truly out of the ordinary has happened. And I can do without hearing how 'tight' security is at CdG airport.

Remember this from last year?

https://www.rt.com/news/325973-paris-airport-employees-radicalization/

Seventy workers at Paris airports suspected of being radical Islamists have had their security passes revoked since last month's terror attacks, which killed 130 people and injured 352 others. It comes as France remains under a state of emergency.
Trends
France terror attacks
The workers, employed at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports, had their red badges revoked following a screening that took place after the November 13 terror attacks in Paris. The screening involved searching the contents of around 4,000 employees' lockers in an attempt to identify potential terrorists.

"Nearly 70 red badges were withdrawn after the attacks, mainly for cases of radicalization," Augustin de Romanet, the chief executive of ADP, the company that runs the two Paris airports, told French media.

Red badges are given to employees working in secure zones of the airports, for instance as baggage handlers, aircraft cleaners and suppliers.

Some airport workers suspected of links to radical Islam were placed under house arrest under the France's state of emergency laws, which gives the government the power to do so.

However, those issued with red badges had already gone through police checks – some of them multiple times, according to De Romanet.

“To be issued with a red badge, you have to be cleared by police, and if you work for a company that carries out security checks of in-flight luggage, you need three police checks,” he said, adding that around 85,000 people have secure-zone clearance in the two airports. Most of them work for airlines or subcontractors.

It comes after French security sources said that Islamist militants killed in a police raid five days after last month's attacks were planning to attack Charles de Gaulle Airport, France's largest international air hub.

It's not the first time that Paris airport employees have had their red badges revoked on suspicion of terrorist links. It emerged following last month's attacks that dozens of airport staff had their security passes revoked after the January attacks on Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine. However, many continued to work despite being on an intelligence watch list for potential Islamist extremists.

[lily]

Among the matters being discussed this morning on the news was that the plane had made two sudden maneuvers.  One at 90 degrees followed by another at 360.  They happened after the last communications......

[bb1]

There's a lot of rumours flying round just now - some more likely than others, IMO. And none of them will help the families who have lost loved ones.

[lily]

EgyptAir are being very considerate of the family members.  They have to be commended for that.

I have flown with that company in the past and must say that I always found the Egyptians to be kind, friendly people.

[Lamplighter]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/egyptair-ms804-plane-crash-live-8003059

Wreckage found near the Greek island of Karpathos.   LL  

[bb1]

Thanks, LL. I hope this doesn't drag on, for the sake of those who have lost family members.

[lily]

Me too.  Those poor people must be in such a state.

[bb1]

[lily]

This is so, so sad.  Hope they find floating parts soon.....

[bb1]

Even by terrorist standards, there's something particularly scummy and cowardly about blowing up civilian airliners.

[lily]

As are any people who tell them or help them to do it.  

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