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EgyptAir Plane Disappears Over Mediterranean, Airline Says EgyptAir Plane Disappears Over Mediterranean, Airline Says
(35 minutes later)
CAIRO — An EgyptAir passenger jet traveling to Cairo from Paris with 69 people on board disappeared over the Mediterranean early Thursday, the airline said on its Twitter account.CAIRO — An EgyptAir passenger jet traveling to Cairo from Paris with 69 people on board disappeared over the Mediterranean early Thursday, the airline said on its Twitter account.
Flight MS804, an Airbus A320 jet, lost contact with radar systems over Greece at 2.45 a.m. Cairo time, 80 miles before it was scheduled to enter Egyptian airspace, EgyptAir said. It had taken off from Paris three hours and 40 minutes earlier. Flight 804, an Airbus A320 jet, lost contact with radar systems over Greece at 2.45 a.m. Cairo time, 80 miles before it was scheduled to enter Egyptian airspace, EgyptAir said. It had taken off from Paris three hours and 40 minutes earlier.
The airline said the plane had been traveling at an altitude of 37,000 feet and was carrying 59 passengers and 10 crew members. Egypt Air said it had alerted search and rescue teams and “all competent authorities,” and would update with further information as it became available. The airline said the plane had been traveling at an altitude of 37,000 feet and was carrying 59 passengers and 10 crew members. EgyptAir said it had alerted search and rescue teams and “all competent authorities,” and would update with further information as it became available.
In another Twitter post, EgyptAir said the plane had been 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace when it disappeared.In another Twitter post, EgyptAir said the plane had been 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace when it disappeared.
Ehab Mohy el-Deen, the head of Egypt’s air navigation authority, said that Greek air traffic controllers notified their Egyptian counterparts that they had lost contact with the plane. “They did not radio for help or lose altitude. They just vanished,” he said.Ehab Mohy el-Deen, the head of Egypt’s air navigation authority, said that Greek air traffic controllers notified their Egyptian counterparts that they had lost contact with the plane. “They did not radio for help or lose altitude. They just vanished,” he said.
He added that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the disappearance or the fate of the airplane, “but this is not normal, of course.” At
Early Thursday, a spokesman for France’s foreign ministry, Romain Nadal, responded by text to a question on the status of the flight, saying that the government was in the process of verifying the plane’s disappearance.
He added that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the disappearance or the plane’s fate, “but this is not normal, of course.”
Further details about the flight were not immediately available early Thursday.Further details about the flight were not immediately available early Thursday.
Last October, a Russian jetliner broke up in midair 23 minutes after takeoff from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.Last October, a Russian jetliner broke up in midair 23 minutes after takeoff from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.
In February, Egyptian authorities said that terrorists had brought down the Airbus A321-200, which was packed with Russian vacationers. The Islamic State, whose local affiliate is fighting the Egyptian military in Sinai, claimed that it brought down the plane, an Airbus A321-200.
Egypt initially denied that the crash was connected to terrorism, even as Russia and Britain said they believed a bomb was responsible. But in February President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said that the flight had been brought down by terrorists although he did not specify which group.
The crash dealt a crippling blow to Egypt’s ailing tourism industry, which had already declined sharply in recent years, and helped precipitate a decline in the value of the Egyptian currency in recent months.
Russia and Britain have suspended flights to Sharm el Sheikh since the crash. The Egyptian investigation into the crash has yet to official identify the cause. But Vladimir V. Putin and Mr. Sisi discussed the resumption of flights in a telephone call on May 10, according to a Kremlin statement.
EgyptAir’s security procedures came under further scrutiny in March after a passenger hijacked a domestic flight to Cairo from Alexandria and diverted it to Cyprus. The hijacker, Seif Eldin Mustafa, who was wearing a wearing a fake explosives vest, said he wanted to free female prisoners from Egyptian jails.
The crisis ended hours later with the surrender of Mr. Mustafa, who the Cypriot authorities later said was suffering from psycholgical problems.