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EgyptAir flight MS804 disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday (May 19) in a crash that Egypt said may have been caused by a terrorist attack.
The Airbus A320, with 56 passengers and 10 crew members on board, was flying from Paris to Cairo when it lost contact with radar after entering Egyptian air space.
Here's what we know so far about the disaster:
What happend before the plane disappeared?
Flight MS804 left Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris for Cairo International Airport on Wednesday (May 18) at 11.09pm Paris time. Flying in clear skies, the plane was 10 miles into Egyptian airspace - or three and a half hours after takeoff - when it disappeared from radar at around 2.30am Egypt time.
Greek authorities said the plane fell 22,000ft and "swerved sharply" in Egyptian airspace. "The plane carried out a 90-degree turn to the left and a 360-degree turn to the right, falling from 37,000ft to 15,000ft and the signal was lost at around 10,000ft," Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said.
What do we know about the plane?
The Airbus A320 was built in 2003 and had clocked 48,000 flight hours. It had passed through airports in Tunisia and Eritrea in the four journeys it made on Wednesday before the Paris-Cairo flight.
Who was on board the flight?
The passengers' nationalities have been disclosed as: 15 French, 30 Egyptian, 1 British, 1 Belgium, 2 Iraqis, 1 Kuwaiti, 1 Saudi, 1 Sudanese, 1 Chadian, 1 Portuguese, 1 Algerian, 1 Canadian. The airline said two babies and one child were on board.
There were also 10 crew members on board. CNN reported that the pilots have been identified as Mohamed Said Shoukair and Mohamed Mamdouh Ahmed Assem, according to an official close to the investigation and a security source.
What could have caused the crash?
So far no cause has been established. Here are some theories put forward and their likelihood:
1.Terrorism
Both France and Egypt have been leading targets for Islamist extremists in recent months. Last October, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militant group claimed responsibility for bombing an A-321 plane - belonging to Russian charter firm Metrojet - that crashed into the Sinai desert on its way from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg in Russia, killing 224 passengers and crew.
One major factor pointing to a terror attack on EgyptAir Flight MS804 is the fact that there does not appear to be any distress signal sent from the plane. "A technical problem, a fire or a motor malfunction doesn't cause an instantaneous accident and the crew has time to react," said Mr Jean-Paul Troadec, former president of the French air accident investigation bureau. "Here, the crew didn't say anything," he added.
A Greek Defence Ministry source was quoted as saying that the authorities were investigating reports from the captain of a merchant ship of "a flame in the sky" around 130 nautical miles south of the Greek island of Karpathos, near where the last contact with the plane was made.
If a bombing is established, the question for investigators will be how a device was smuggled aboard a flight taking off from France's busiest airport, Charles de Gaulle.
2.Mechanical failure
Experts said the chances of a mechanical malfunction were slim. The aircraft passed through airports in Tunisia and Eritrea in the four journeys it made on Wednesday before the Paris-Cairo flight, but no warning flags were raised.
In addition, the A-320 has an excellent safety record as the best- selling, medium-range airliner in the world. An A-320 takes off or lands every 30 seconds around the world, according to aeronautics expert Gerard Feldzer.
EgyptAir vice-chairman Ahmed Abdel said there were "no reported snags" from the crew in Cairo or Paris, nor was there any special cargo or notification of dangerous goods on board.
3.Shot down
The plane which was flying at 11,000m, first swerved 90 degrees to the left, then spun through 360 degrees to the right, before plunging and vanishing from Greek radar screens.
Experts noted that a jet flying at 11,000m would be out of reach of portable rocket launchers used by militant groups in the Middle East. "We cannot exclude the possibility it was shot down by another aircraft by mistake, but it is likely we would already know," said Mr Feldzer.
The region around northern Egypt, including the Israeli and Gazan coastlines, is "one of the most monitored regions in the world, including by satellite", he said. "It would be very difficult to hide this kind of information."
4.Rogue Pilot
So far there has been no evidence to show that a rogue pilot could be the cause of the crash of flight MS804. EgyptAir said the flight crew were experienced, with the pilot clocking 6,275 hours of flying experience, including 2,101 hours on the A-320, and the first officer clocking 2,766 hours.
(THE STRAITS TIMES)
