EgyptAir Flight MS804 Missing Jet: Cairo-Bound Plane From Paris Reported Missing Over Greece

UPDATE: 2:30 a.m. EDT — Egyptian aviation officials say the missing Cairo-bound EgyptAir plane has crashed. EgyptAir tweeted that emergency devices of Flight MS804 sent a distress call, which was received at 4:26 a.m. local time (10:26 p.m. EDT).

The plane had 66 people on board and a search is underway. Officials said that the “possibility that the plane crashed has been confirmed,” as the plane did not land in any of the nearby airports, the Associated Press reported.

France has set up a crisis unit led by President François Hollande, Agence France-Presse reported.

UPDATE: 2:09 a.m. EDT — The French government is expected to hold an emergency meeting shortly to discuss about the missing EgyptAir Flight MS804, the Guardian reported, citing President François Hollande’s office.

Hollande already had a talk with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the office said, adding that the two countries would be cooperating to determine the circumstances of the plane’s disappearance, the report added.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls reportedly said: “We are in close contact with the Egyptian authorities, both civil and military. The Egyptian authorities have already sent air reconnaissance teams to the site, and France is ready to help with the search if the Egyptian authorities ask, of course. At this stage, no theory can be ruled out regarding the causes of the disappearance.”

UPDATE: 1:39 a.m. EDT — EgyptAir tweeted a list of nationalities of people on board the missing EgyptAir Flight MS804. According to the list, 30 Egyptian, 15 French and two Iraqi citizens, and one each from Britain, Belgium, Canada, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, were traveling on the fateful flight.

In a separate development, Cairo International Airport security said families of the missing EgyptAir passengers have been relocated to a lounge in Terminal 1, where an emergency team is supervising the situation, the Guardian reported.

EgyptAir Flight MS804 went missing about 174 miles from the Egyptian coast at 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. EDT) and the Airbus A320 was to arrive at Cairo International Airport at 9:15 p.m. EDT.

UPDATE: 1:27 a.m. EDT — French authorities will also join the investigation of the missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 because the aircraft is an Airbus and it took off from Paris, a French official told the Telegraph.

French nationals are likely to be among the passengers, however, there is no official confirmation on that, the report added.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Greek air traffic controllers alerted Egyptian officials that they had lost contact with the plane, Ehab Mohy el-Deen, the head of Egypt’s air navigation authority, said.

“They did not radio for help or lose altitude. They just vanished,” he said.

UPDATE: 1:13 a.m. EDT — Greece has joined the search operation for the Cairo-bound EgyptAir Flight MS804, which went missing shortly after it entered the Egyptian airspace, officials at the Hellenic National Defense General Staff said, according to the Associated Press.

Two Greek aircraft, a C-130 and an early warning plane, joined the search, officials added. A frigate was also reaching the area, and helicopters are on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for possible rescue or search operations.

UPDATE: 1:01 a.m. EDT — Weather did not play a part in the disappearance of the EgyptAir Flight MS804, a CNN meteorologist said. CNN’s Pedram Javaheri said while “initially there was a storm behind the aircraft, it stayed ahead of the storm, weather didn't play a role.” However, he noted that a storm system off North Africa “could affect the search.”

UPDATE: 12:51 a.m. EDT — EgyptAir has tweeted that the missing Flight MS804 had 66 people on board. Initial reports said the plane carried 69 people. Of the 66 people, 56 are passengers, seven are cabin crew and three others are EgyptAir security personnel, the airliner tweeted.

UPDATE: 12:23 a.m. EDT — The missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 has likely crashed into the sea, Ihab Raslan, a spokesman for the Egyptian civil aviation agency, told SkyNews Arabia, the Associated Press reported.

The plane made no distress calls, Ahmed Abdel, the vice-chairman of EgyptAir holding company, told CNN.

“Search and rescue has been dispatched and are now at the scene ... Daylight has just broken around an hour ago, so we should get some information within the next hour,” Abdel reportedly said, adding that a rescue plane has been arrived at the area, where the plane is believed to be missing.

UPDATE: 12:04 a.m. EDT — EgyptAir Flight MS804, which disappeared early Thursday from radar 10 miles after it entered Egyptian airspace, was an Airbus A320. Initial reports said the plane was a recent model 737-800. Egyptian air forces have been dispatched to the area where the plane is believed to have disappeared, Al Arabiya reported.

UPDATE: 11:44 p.m. EDT -- The disappearance of an EgyptAir Flight MS804 came about two months after a different EgyptAir jet was hijacked, the New York Daily News reported.

That case resulted in the arrest of suspect Seif Eldin Mustafa, 58, who was said to be wearing a suicide vest, the report said. The suspect forced that plane to stop in Cyprus, with no injuries connected to the case.

Mustafa is facing extradition to Egypt, the report said.

UPDATE: 11:36 p.m. EDT: Sky News Arabia reported that the plane was at an elevation of 37,000 feet when it disappeared before entering Egyptian airspace.

Authorities from both Greece and Egypt were said to be forming investigating teams.

UPDATE: 11:30 p.m. EDT -- David Soucie, an industry expert quoted by CNN, said the aircraft was a recent model 737-800 that had a good reputation for safety, and that EgyptAir is generally considered a safe airline, although it has experienced its share of incidents.

UPDATE: 11:26 p.m. EDT -- The missing EgyptAir flight had 59 passengers and 10 crew members aboard, Sky News Arabia reported.

The flight left Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris and was bound for Cairo Airport, the report said, citing information from shipping industry sources.

The disappearance occurred near dawn, the report said.

According to aviation experts quoted on CNN, the flight took a route over the Alps and over Italy, and was headed across the Mediterranean Sea, bound for Egypt.

Mary Schiavo, an expert quoted by CNN, said that from the lack of information about the plane, One can logically assume there's trouble.

Original story:

An Egypt Air Flight MS804, a Cairo-bound passenger jet that departed from Paris on Thursday morning local time, has gone off radar somewhere near Greece, according to the airline, as well as other posts on social media, including from Sky News Arabia.

Several of the posts said that 58 passengers were believed to be aboard.

This is a developing story. Check here for updates.