< Reveal sidebar

EgyptAir Flight 804 Loses Radar Contact

Photo provided by Mehmet Mustafa Celik [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) or CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Early Thursday morning, EgyptAir flight 804 disappeared from radar en route from Paris to Cairo. The aircraft has presumably crashed in the Mediterranean, but no debris have been confirmed yet.

EgyptAir has confirmed that Flight 804 operating from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Cairo has disappeared from radar. The airline confirmed the following:

  • MS804 lost radar contact at 2:45 AM Cairo Local Time (CLT)
  • The aircraft lost contact at 37,000 feet, 10 miles after entering Egyptian airspace
  • Search efforts are currently underway
  • There were a total of 66 souls on board: 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew members

FlightRadar24 data indicates the aircraft was SU-GCC, MSN2088, an IAE-powered A320 delivered new to EgyptAir in 2003. Airbus confirmed in a statement the aircraft had approximately 48,000 flight hours.

The last ADS-B data available from FlightAware confirms the flight was at 37,000 feet traveling at approximately 530 knots.

France’s President has confirmed that the aircraft has crashed. According to the Associated Press, the Paris prosecutors office has launched an investigation regarding the loss of the aircraft.

Data from FlightAware

Data from FlightAware

Last recorded position of MS804:

2016-05-19

Data provided by FlightRadar24

Various nations have joined the search for MS804. The U.S. Navy has deployed a P-3 Orion from NAS Sigonella and Britain has deployed a C-130 Hercules from RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus and a ship to assist.

British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Philip Hammond confirmed via Twitter that a British passport holder was on board. The Kuwait News Agency confirmed a Kuwaiti citizen was on board and added the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry has spoken with Egyptian officials regarding the flight.

While responding to reporters’ questions, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi indicated terrorism was a “stronger” possibility than technical failure, according to AP.

Some media stations began reporting debris has been found, but EgyptAir has not confirmed this.

This is an ongoing story. Details will be added as they become available.

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

Author

  • AirlineGeeks.com Staff

    AirlineGeeks.com was founded in February 2013 as a one-person blog in Washington D.C. Since then, we’ve grown to have 25+ active team members scattered across the globe. We are all here for the same reason: we love deep-diving into the fascinating realm of the airline industry.

Subscribe to AirlineGeeks' Daily Check-In

Receive a daily dose of the airline industry's top stories along with market insights right in your inbox.

Related Stories

How Do Low-Cost Airlines Make Tickets So Cheap?

The likes of Ryanair, easyJet, and Southwest are some of the most successful airlines in history, with the former consistently…

A Look at the Qatar Airways Stopover Program

Given that the majority of passengers traveling on the big Middle Eastern airlines are connecting, these airlines offer stopover packages…

The Large Air Carrier That Few Know Exists

The concept of an “airline” is a familiar one: a single company operates specific aircraft to specific places, either regularly…