19 May 2016
Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said Egypt-Greek search for debris of crashed EgyptAir plane off Greek island of Karpathos is expanding.
Hours after the plane disappeared, Fathi told reporters in Cairo that the diameter of the search area will widen, moving further south of the island.
Search efforts continue. Keep checking News24 for the latest updates.
19 May 2016
AP reports that Greece's defense minister, Panos Kammenos, says Greece has a submarine on standby which is participating in a NATO exercise about 160 km away from the presumed crash area, while F-16 fighter jets stationed on Crete could also be used if necessary.
The country already has a navy frigate, two military transport planes and a radar plane participating in the search and rescue operation, while he said Egypt had sent a C-130 military transport plane and two F-16s.
France is providing Falcon navy support aircraft, he said, while Greece has contacted the US and Russia, and the American side has offered and Greece has accepted the help of a maritime support aircraft.
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
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19 May 2016
Donald Trump has weighed in on the incident, unsurprisingly:
Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris. When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2016
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
A civil aviation statement said the pilot "was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek when authorised to exit the Athens flight information region.
"We tracked the entire process from the plane's entry (into Greek airspace) to its exit, it does not appear to deviate at all from the coordinates we gave," Litzerakos said.
19 May 2016
The Greek defense minister has said an EgyptAir “suddenly” started veering to the right and left just before it disappeared from radar.
"The plane carried out a 90-degree turn to the left and a 360-degree turn to the right, falling from 37 000 to 15 000 feet and the signal was lost at around 10 000 feet," Defense Minister Panos Kammenos told a news conference.
The plane then disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea, shortly after 2.30am local time.
19 May 2016
Breaking: Greek defence minister: Plane made 'sudden swerves before crash'
— James Rothwell (@JamesERothwell) May 19, 2016
19 May 2016
Top countries searching for news on EgyptAir flight MS804 today pic.twitter.com/Fqcn1RwSQS
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) May 19, 2016
Top global questions on EgyptAir flight MS804 since its disappearance pic.twitter.com/pogg4lrU6x
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) May 19, 2016
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19 May 2016
The head of Greece’s air traffic controllers board has told The Guardian there was “no chance” MS804 was still in the air.
“I consider it a fact that the plane has crashed. There is no chance of it still being in the air,” Serafeim Petrou said. “Most probably, and very unfortunately, it is at the bottom of the sea.”
French president François Hollande has also confirmed that the plane has crashed.
19 May 2016
The pilot of an EgyptAir flight had "not mentioned a problem" in his final contact, the Greek civil aviation said.
"The flight controllers contacted the pilot (with the plane) at a height of 37 000 feet (near Athens)... he did not mention a problem," civil aviation chief Constantinos Litzerakos told Antenna TV.
19 May 2016
The Airbus A320 is one of the most common planes in service around the world today.
Some key facts about it:
—Similar to the Boeing 737, the single-aisle, twin-engine jet is used to connect cities that are between one and five hours apart.
—The Airbus A320 is generally considered one of the safest passenger planes in service. A Boeing safety analysis in early 2015 said the A320 registered just 0.14 fatal accidents per million takeoffs.
—The first A320 entered service in 1988.
—There are nearly 4 000 A320s in operation worldwide.
—Airbus, a European plane-making group based in Toulouse, France, also makes nearly identical versions of the A320: the smaller A318 and A319 and the stretched A321. The entire fleet has accumulated nearly 180 million flight hours in over 98 million flights.
—The plane is certified to fly up to 39 000 feet, its maximum altitude before its rate of climb begins to erode. The plane has an absolute flight limit of 42 000 feet.
19 May 2016
Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences following the disappearance of flight MS804.
Moscow banned Egyptair flights last year after on of their planes crashed in Sinai killing 224 mainly Russian passengers.
The President has expressed his condolences following the crash of an EgyptAir plane en route from Paris to Cairo
— President of Russia (@KremlinRussia_E) May 19, 2016
19 May 2016
CNN reports that the area in the Mediterranean where the plane disappeared is a “heavily policed” area of sea with a strong military presence, according to aviation expert Julian Bray.
"They probably already know what has happened to this plane but aren't telling us," Bray said.
19 May 2016
Experts say a terrorist attack is the most likely scenario. Both France and Egypt have been leading targets for Islamist extremists in recent months.
19 May 2016
The airline’s two scheduled flights from Charles de Gaulle airport to Cairo will run as normal on Thursday, reported BFMTV.
The flights are scheduled for 3:45pm and 10:45pm.
Two scheduled #EgyptAir Paris-Cairo flights will run as normal today: https://t.co/TLodvXgifx
— The Local France (@TheLocalFrance) May 19, 2016
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
The timeline of events:
23:09 Cairo time: flight MS804 leaves Paris Charles de Gaulle airport
02:27 Cairo time: last signal picked up by Greek air traffic control, according to Reuters
02:30 Cairo time: Egypt loses contact with flight
03:15 Cairo time: plane had been due to arrive in Cairo
19 May 2016
The BBC reports that Egypt's foreign ministry has put out a statement in which it refers to the "falling" of the plane.
This would be the first real indication from Egypt that flight MS804 might have come down.
19 May 2016
Jean-Paul Troadec, former president of the French air accident investigation bureau (BEA) was asked to speculate on what caused the plane’s disappearance:
"We can make certain hypotheses...there’s a strong possibility of an explosion on board from a bomb or a suicide bomber. The idea of a technical accident when weather conditions were good, seems also possible but not that likely. We could also consider a missile, which is what happened to the Malaysia Airlines aircraft in July 2014.
If the crew didn’t send an alert signal, it’s because what happened was very sudden. A problem with an engine or a technical fault, would not produce an immediate accident. In this case, the crew did not react, which makes us think of a bomb.”
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
The missing EgyptAir plane entered into service in 2003. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 48 000 flight hours.
19 May 2016
French President Francois Hollande called his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and the leaders agreed to "cooperate closely" to establish what happened to the plane, AFP reports.
Hollande also set up a crisis meeting of top ministers, including Valls, the foreign, defence and interior ministers, according to sources close to his office.
19 May 2016
The French military says a Falcon surveillance jet monitoring the Mediterranean for migrants has been diverted to help search for an EgyptAir flight that crashed in the area.
The French navy may send another plane and a ship to the zone.
19 May 2016
Some relatives of missing #MS804 passengers now leaving the airport and have been told to wait for phone updates.
One man has 4 family members on board the missing aircraft.
One relative, who has 4 family members on board missing Egyptair flight, #MS804 says he's still awaiting an official update.
— Quentin Sommerville (@sommervillebbc) May 19, 2016
19 May 2016
The director of Greece's Civil Aviation Authority says air traffic controllers were in contact with the pilot of the EgyptAir flight as it passed through Greek airspace, AP reports.
The director, Constantine Lyzerakos, said the plane was at 37 000 feet, traveling at 519 mph, and did not report any problems.
19 May 2016
Update: Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fathy to hold press conference at 1 pm on #EgyptAirMS804 missing craft
— Daily News Egypt (@DailyNewsEgypt) May 19, 2016
19 May 2016
of the disappearance of EGYPTAIR flight MS804 and the company confirms that the reason of disappearance hasn't been yet confirmed.
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) May 19, 2016
19 May 2016
The missing airline crashed into the sea off the southern Greek island of Karpathos while in Egyptian airspace, a Greece aviation source told AFP.
"At around 0029 GMT (3:29 am) when it was in Egyptian airspace, the plane disappeared from Greek radars... it crashed around 130 nautical miles off the island of Karpathos," the source told AFP.
The official said the last communication with the pilot was three minutes before the plane disappeared, and that there had been no distress call.
The Greek defense ministry said it had dispatched two search planes and a frigate to the area.
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
AP has reported that France's transport chief says there were three Egyptian security officers on the EgyptAir flight that disappeared after leaving Paris for Cairo.
Alain Vidalies told reporters after an emergency government meeting that the plane had seven crew members and three Egyptian security officers, "which is the usual practice."
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
A statement from Egypt’s civil aviation ministry says it is too early to conclude that the missing plane has crashed, and EgyptAir has protested at what it calls “misinformation”, asking media to wait for official updates.
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
BREAKING: AP reports - Egyptian aviation officials say an EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed.
The officials say the search is now underway for the debris. They say the "possibility that the plane crashed has been confirmed," as the plane hasn't landed in any of the nearby airports.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
19 May 2016
19 May 2016
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19 May 2016
The latest from the airline: EgyptAir A320 aircraft flight number MS804 lost contact with radar above the Mediterranean Sea about 280km from the Egyptian coast at 02:30 [local time] as the flight was expected to arrive Cairo airport at 03:15.
The airline had earlier said that it lost contact with the aircraft about 50km from the coastline.
According to FlightRadar24, this is the last point of contact: