EgyptAir flight 804, which was headed to Cairo from Paris disappeared from radar shortly after it entered Egyptian airspace. The aircraft is an Airbus A320 with 66 people on board, including two infants and one child. Not much more is known at this point, but we will provide updates as soon as they become available.
An EgyptAir flight bound for Cairo from Paris has disappeared from the radar, the airline announced on its Twitter account late Wednesday.
Flight No. MS804 departed Paris at 11:09 p.m. Central European Summer Time and lost contact with the tracking system at 2:45 a.m. Cairo time. It was flying at a height of 37,000 feet when it disappeared 10 miles into Egyptian airspace. Contact was lost 10 minutes before the plane’s scheduled landing.
EgyptAir said it has reached out to the relevant authorities, and search and rescue teams have been dispatched. The plane is an Airbus A320, made in 2003.
A total of 66 people were on board: two infants, one child, seven crew members and three security personnel. Speaking to CNN, EgyptAir Holdings Vice Chairman Ahmed Adel said the crew is very experienced, and there were no problems leaving Paris.
The pilot has more than 6,000 hours of flight experience, including more than 2,000 hours flying the same model aircraft, EgyptAir said. The co-pilot has nearly 3,000 flying hours.
The original article can be read in its entirety at The Washington Post right here.
(Feature photo by Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters)