Mystery of Flight MS804: EgyptAir now say NO wreckage has been found and Pentagon says they have NO indication of an explosion on the plane that 'plunged 22,000ft into the sea with 66 on board' 

  • EgyptAir flight MS804 vanished over the Med at 00.30am GMT after leaving Paris at 9.09pm GMT on Wednesday 
  • Airline said contact was lost with plane 10 miles into Egyptian air space about 40 minutes before it was due to land
  • Airbus A320 was flying at 37,000ft and did not make a distress call before it disappeared off radar, officials say
  • There were 56 passengers on board including one Briton, 30 Egyptians, 15 French and one Canadian and 10 crew
  • British national has been named as Richard Osman, a 40-year-old father of two young daughters from west Wales
  • Airline initially confirmed wreckage had been found off Greek islands, but has now retracted that confirmation

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EgyptAir has tonight retracted its claims that the wreckage of the downed Flight MS804 had been discovered floating in the Mediterranean Sea, as the mystery surrounding the missing passenger jet deepens.

It comes as U.S. authorities say they have so far been unable to find any indication that an explosion took place on board the plane before it allegedly plunged 22,000ft into the sea.

It comes as international efforts combine to cast light on what happened to the plane, which had 66 people on board, in its final moments.  

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Flight MS804 was travelling from Paris to Cairo when it vanished from radar 10 miles into Egyptian airspace at 00.30am GMT without making a distress call. 

Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus A320 made 'sudden swerves' in mid-air, lurching 90 degrees to the left then 360 degrees to the right. It then dropped from 37,000 feet to 15,000ft before the signal was lost at around 10,000 feet.

Security experts, ministers and former air accident investigators said all the evidence pointed to the plane being targeted in a terrorist attack.

But U.S. officials have cast doubt on these claims, stating that they have so far found no evidence of an explosion on board.

U.S. authorities are reviewing ‘intelligence collections’ in an attempt to cast light on what could have happened to the jet.

But the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee said there are conflicting reports about the conduct of the EgyptAir plane during its last minutes of flight.

Nor is there anything yet to confirm whether terrorism, structural failure or something else was the cause, he added.

‘We’re working with the French to try to figure out if there is any information we have that could shed light on any of the passengers, but there’s nothing yet to confirm the cause of the plane crash,’ said California Rep. Adam Schiff.

He said the plane did seem to have broken apart in mid-air, but the reason was unclear. 

Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathi said the possibility of a terror attack was a 'stronger' possibility than technical failure.

Meanwhile, EgyptAir has retracted its earlier statement that wreckage of the plane had been found off the Greek island of Karpathos.  

Wreckage of MS804? This image posted online purportedly shows a piece of debris from the doomed EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean with 66 people on board. EgyptAir earlier said the wreckage was from the plane, but has now retracted the statement

Wreckage of MS804? This image posted online purportedly shows a piece of debris from the doomed EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean with 66 people on board. EgyptAir earlier said the wreckage was from the plane, but has now retracted the statement

Search: Pictures emerged as search vessels reported seeing large objects floating in the sea around 230 miles south of the island of Crete
Search: Pictures emerged as search vessels reported seeing large objects floating in the sea around 230 miles south of the island of Crete

Search: Pictures emerged as search vessels reported seeing large objects floating in the sea around 230 miles south of the island of Crete

Egyptian officials are now taking a more cautious line, similar to that of Greek authorities, and are saying they 'stand corrected' and it 'is not our aircraft'.   

The head of the Greek air safety authority earlier insisted that wreckage found in the Mediterranean close to where the jet is thought to have crashed 'does not come from a plane'.

'Up to now the analysis of the debris indicates that it does not come from a plane, my Egyptian counterpart also confirmed to me that it was not yet proven that the debris came from the EgyptAir flight when we were last in contact around 1745 GMT,' Athanasios Binis told AFP.

Richard Osman was among the 66 victims on board the jet, that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea without issuing a distress call

Richard Osman was among the 66 victims on board the jet, that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea without issuing a distress call

In the wake of the crash, the family of British passenger Richard Osman, 40, spoke out about their heartbreak. 

Mr Osman had celebrated the birth of his second daughter Olympe just three weeks ago, and was travelling to Egypt for work.    

'I still can't take it in,' said his brother Alastair, in Swansea. 

'I got a call from our sister first thing this morning and I'm still in shock.

'Richard was so happy at the birth of his second daughter, and yet weeks later he is no longer with us - it's an absolute tragedy.' 

Mr Osman, a geologist, was also father to a 14-month-old girl called Victios.   

His two daughters are being looked after by their French-born mother Aureilie, 36, in Paris, where the couple have a home. 

Mr Osman's brother Alastair, 36, a biochemistry student at Swansea University, said: 'Of all the family I would've thought Richard would have been the last to go.'

'He was incredibly fit and a workaholic and since leaving university he has never stopped.

'He was really happy about having the baby and was looking forward to enjoying a lovely family life with his two girls.' 

He is believed to be a dual citizen of Australia, following a statement issued by the Australian government saying that one of those presumed dead is a UK-Australia dual national. 

Minister of Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop declined to give additional details, including details on the passenger's identity.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has ordered the civil aviation ministry, the army's search and rescue centre, the navy, and the air force to take all necessary measures to locate debris from the EgyptAir plane.

They will join French, Greek and U.S. forces in the search. 

In a statement issued by his office, Sisi also ordered an investigative committee formed by the civil aviation ministry to immediately start investigating the causes of the plane's disappearance.

Photographs emerged earlier today of what was claimed to be debris from the plane as search vessels reported seeing plastic objects including lifejackets and seats floating in the sea around 230 miles south of the Greek islands of Crete and Karpathos.  

The images of the debris were posted on Facebook by Tarek Wahba, who is understood to be the captain of Egyptian container vessel, Maersk Ahram. 

He wrote: 'Been finding life jackets and debris including chair to the plane.'

The ship was among a number of vessels sent to the area to help with the search. 

A Greek frigate also reported spotting two large plastic objects floating in the sea 230 miles south of the island of Crete.

They appeared to be pieces of plastic in white and red and were spotted close to an area where an emergency transponder signal had been emitted.  

Family man: Richard Osman was among the 66 victims on board the jet. His brother has described his 'delirious happiness' after the birth of his second daughter just three weeks ago. Mr Osman is pictured here with his French-born wife Aureilie and his first daughter Victios

Happier times: Mr Osman's brother has spoken of his 'shock' at hearing the news of the plane crash this morning. Mr Osman, a geologist who was travelling to Egypt for work, leaves behind a wife (pictured here on their wedding day) and two infant daughters

Happier times: Mr Osman's brother has spoken of his 'shock' at hearing the news of the plane crash this morning. Mr Osman, a geologist who was travelling to Egypt for work, leaves behind a wife (pictured here on their wedding day) and two infant daughters

Future: Mr Osman's brother Alastair described the crash as an 'absolute tragedy', adding that Mr Osman had been looking forward to a 'lovely future' with his wife and two young daughters

Future: Mr Osman's brother Alastair described the crash as an 'absolute tragedy', adding that Mr Osman had been looking forward to a 'lovely future' with his wife and two young daughters

Vanished: EgyptAir flight MS804  heading from Paris to Cairo crashed into the sea after disappearing from radar. There were 66 people on board the Airbus A320 (pictured) that vanished 40 minutes before it was set to land in Egypt early Thursday morning

Vanished: EgyptAir flight MS804 heading from Paris to Cairo crashed into the sea after disappearing from radar. There were 66 people on board the Airbus A320 (pictured) that vanished 40 minutes before it was set to land in Egypt early Thursday morning

Loss: Relatives of passengers on the missing EgyptAir flight break down as they console each other at Cairo International Airport in Egypt

Loss: Relatives of passengers on the missing EgyptAir flight break down as they console each other at Cairo International Airport in Egypt

A relative of one of the passengers on board EgyptAir flight MS804 reacts as she makes a phone call at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris
A relative of the victims of the EgyptAir flight 804 wipes her tears as she is comforted by unidentified people at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside of Paris

Devastated: A relative of one of the passengers on board EgyptAir flight MS804 weeps as she makes a phone call (left) and wipes away tears (right) as she waits for news at Charles de Gualle Airport near Paris where the doomed plane took off hours earlier

Despair: An Egyptian woman whose brother was on board the  jet reacts as she leaves the EgyptAir service building at Cairo Airport

Despair: An Egyptian woman whose brother was on board the jet reacts as she leaves the EgyptAir service building at Cairo Airport

Sorrow: A woman holds her head  as she waits for more news outside the Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport

Sorrow: A woman holds her head as she waits for more news outside the Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport

Hunt: A Greek frigate found two large plastic objects floating about 230 miles south of the island of Crete, Greek defence sources said. However, neither the Greek nor the Egyptian authorities now believe the debris came from the missing passenger jet

Hunt: A Greek frigate found two large plastic objects floating about 230 miles south of the island of Crete, Greek defence sources said. However, neither the Greek nor the Egyptian authorities now believe the debris came from the missing passenger jet

Path: A radar map shows the plane's path travelling from Paris and then stopping in the Mediterranean Sea before reaching Cairo, where it lost contact with air traffic control

Path: A radar map shows the plane's path travelling from Paris and then stopping in the Mediterranean Sea before reaching Cairo, where it lost contact with air traffic control

Greek military officials say a Greek C-130 military transport plane is still participating in the search for debris from the EgyptAir jet, but a frigate initially sent to the area has been recalled. The same officials say all potential debris located so far in the sea has been spotted by Egyptian aircraft. 

If confirmed to be a terror attack, the disaster would deal another hammer blow to Egypt's crippled tourism industry just months after a Russian Metrojet plane was brought down in the Sinai peninsula by a bomb planted at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. 

Passenger: A Canadian woman among those on board the plane has been named as Marwa Hamdy (pictured)

Passenger: A Canadian woman among those on board the plane has been named as Marwa Hamdy (pictured)

The 56 passengers on board included one Briton, 30 Egyptians, 15 French, one Belgian, one Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and at least one Canadian. There were 10 crew members including three security guards. 

The first among the crew members who were on board the plane have been named. The captain has been named as Mohamed Said Shoukair.

The first officer was Mohamed Mamdouh Ahmed, and the head flight attendant was Mirvat Zaharia Zaki Mohamed. 

A Canadian woman among the passengers has also been named as Marwa Hamdy. The nation's Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion issued a statement claiming two Canadians were on board the flight.

Ms Dion said: 'Based on the information currently available, Global Affairs Canada confirms that two Canadian citizens are among the passengers on this flight.' 

The airline has said that Ms Hamdy was the sole Canadian on the flight.

U.S. government officials were working on an initial theory the jet was downed by a bomb, two U.S. officials told CNN, although they cautioned that hypothesis could change. 

The U.S. State Department has not yet issued a travel warning to Egypt, according to spokesman John Kirby in Washington.

He told reporters that it is too early to make any definite decisions, and that he is 'not aware that we recorded, saw, photographed or have possession of any electronic indications about what happened'.    

The head of Russia's top domestic security agency, Alexander Bortnikov, also claimed it was 'in all likelihood it was a terror attack'.   

Meanwhile, Jean-Paul Troadec, the former chief of the BEA national investigation unit, said the lack of a live emergency alert meant it was almost certainly destroyed in a terror attack.

He told Europe 1 radio station in Paris: 'A technical problem, a fire or a failed motor do not cause an instant accident and the team has time to react. 

'The team said nothing, they did not react, so it was very probably a brutal event and we can certainly think about an attack.'

Their comments came after a merchant ship captain reported seeing a 'flame in the sky' over the Mediterranean. 

ISIS has been waging a deadly insurgency against Egyptian security forces and last October claimed the bombing of a Russian airliner flying home holidaymakers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh which killed all 224 people on board. 

BRITISH GEOLOGIST KILLED IN EGYPTAIR CRASH CELEBRATED DAUGHTER'S BIRTH JUST THREE WEEKS AGO

Devastated: Richard Osman's brother Alastair, who described his family's heartbreak at the news of the crash

Devastated: Richard Osman's brother Alastair, who described his family's heartbreak at the news of the crash

Richard Osman, 40, had been 'deliriously happy' at the birth of his second daughter Olympe just three weeks ago.

His devastated brother Alastair told how Richard was on his way to Cairo to work - a trip he took frequently as a geologist with a gold mining firm in Egypt.

His French-born wife Aureilie, 36, gave birth to Olympe on April 27. They have another daughter, 14-month old Victios.

The two babies were being looked after by their mother in Paris where they have a home. 

Mr Osman went to Queen Elizabeth school in Carmarthen before going to Kingston University and then taking his masters degree at Camborn school of mining in Cornwall.

His father, Dr Mohamed Fekry Ali Osman, was an Egyptian who worked as an ear nose and throat consultant at Singleton hospital, Swansea, before he died at the age of 70 in 2013.

His brother Alastair said: 'Richard was so happy at the birth of his second daughter, and yet weeks later he is no longer with us. It's an absolute tragedy.

'He was really happy about having the baby and was looking forward to enjoying a lovely family life with his two girls.'

The family's main home is in Jersey, and Richard had worked in the Australian goldmines before returning to Europe several years ago.

The family have a younger brother, Philip, 34, who runs a string of bars in Thailand.

The flight was the aircraft's fifth of the day, having also flown to the Eritrean capital of Asmara, the Tunisian capital Tunis and Brussels in Belgium. 

French President Francois Hollande said nothing had been ruled out about the cause of the crash.  

Speaking at the Elysee Palace in Paris, he said: 'When we have the truth we need to draw all the conclusions. At this stage, we must give priority to solidarity toward the families (of the victims).'  

The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the accident.

The prosecutor said in a statement that its collective accident department opened the investigation with the national gendarme service, adding that 'no hypothesis is favoured or ruled out at this stage'.  

In the minutes and hours after the crash, devastated relatives gathered at Charles De Gaulle and Cairo Airports, weeping and comforting each other as waited for news of their loved ones.

The British Foreign Office said it was in contact with the family of the British national who was feared dead.  

Grief: Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengers comfort each other in front of the airliner's office at Cairo International Airport

Grief: Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengers comfort each other in front of the airliner's office at Cairo International Airport

Wait: Relatives and friends of passengers on the EgyptAir react as they wait outside the Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo Airport

Wait: Relatives and friends of passengers on the EgyptAir react as they wait outside the Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo Airport

Agony: A woman reacts as she waits outside the EgyptAir service building where relatives are being held at Cairo International Airport

Agony: A woman reacts as she waits outside the EgyptAir service building where relatives are being held at Cairo International Airport

Prime Minister David Cameron told LBC Radio: 'I absolutely feel for them [the families]. This is obviously a dreadful event. We don't know very much right now about what's happened. 

'We know that there was one British national on the plane. It looks as if it has gone down in the Mediterranean.' 

'One of our ships RFA Royal Fleet Auxiliary Mounts Bay is nearby and so we've sent it to the area, but I think it's too early to speculate about what the cause was.   

'We simply don't know but all the experts are talking to each other and trying to work out what has happened and when we know more, we'll be able to say more.' 

The Airbus A320 left the French capital's Charles De Gaulle Airport at 9.09pm GMT last night before coming down off the Greek island of Karpathos ten miles into Egyptian airspace at around 00.30am GMT. It was scheduled to arrive at Cairo Airport at 1.15am GMT. 

EgyptAir first reported on the disappearance of the flight, tweeting: 'An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804, which departed Paris at 9.09pm (GMT) heading to Cairo, has disappeared from radar.' 

Greece's Civil Aviation Authority CAA said the flight entered the Greek air traffic control area (FIR) at 2.24am Greek time (11.24am GMT).  

It was identified and approved on its flight course before passing into the next section of air traffic control where it was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR.

The CAA said the last communication traffic controllers had with the EgyptAir pilot at around 00.05am found him in good spirits.

It said the pilot 'was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek when authorised to exit the Athens flight information region'. 

EGYPTAIR JET HAD TRAVELLED TO TERROR HOTSPOTS IN BRUSSELS, TUNIS AND ERITREA HOURS BEFORE CRASH

The EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean had flown to terror hotspots in Tunisia, Eritrea and Belgium in the days before the disaster, it has emerged.

The travel log of the Airbus A320 will likely form a major part of the investigation into the crash which experts say was most likely caused by a terror attack.

Internet site FlightRadar24 indicates the jet travelled to Tunis, Brussels and the Eritrean capital of Asmara in the two days before, leaving open the possibility that an explosive device could have been planted aboard prior to its arrival in France.

All destinations have been targeted by terror attacks or plagued by jihadist uprisings in recent months.

Tour of terror: Flight radar data showed how the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean had travelled to Tunis, Cairo, Eritrea and Brussels, all area targeted by Islamist militants

Tour of terror: Flight radar data showed how the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean had travelled to Tunis, Cairo, Eritrea and Brussels, all area targeted by Islamist militants

Brussels Airport and the city's Metro station were targeted in March in ISIS suicide attacks that killed 32 people. 

Those attacks have been linked to the same cell that killed 130 people in a November massacre in Paris, where flight MS804 took off last night.

More than 20 people were also killed in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, in March last year when two Islamist militants stormed the Bardo Museum.

Meanwhile, Ethiopian authorities said last week that they had thwarted a terror attack by Eritrean jihadists who trained and armed in Asmara.

If a bombing is established, the question for investigators will be how a device was possibly smuggled aboard a flight taking off from France's busiest airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle, where security has been on high alert since last year's jihadist attacks.

Aeronautics expert Gerard Feldzer said: 'A bomb placed on board at (Paris) or in Cairo is always possible because it's difficult to make your airport 100 per cent watertight, even in an airport with such tight surveillance as Roissy (Charles de Gaulle).' 

Shock: A woman reacts as she waits outside the Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo are being held at Cairo International Airport

Shock: A woman reacts as she waits outside the Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo are being held at Cairo International Airport

Upset: Relatives and friends of passengers who were on the EgyptAir plane leave the EgyptAir in-flight service building at Cairo Airport

Upset: Relatives and friends of passengers who were on the EgyptAir plane leave the EgyptAir in-flight service building at Cairo Airport

Terror: Relatives gather at Cairo Airport. Among the 56 passengers on board the plane were 30 Egyptian nationals, 15 French, two Iraqis, one Briton, Belgian, Kuwaiti, Saudi, Sudanese, Chadian, Portuguese, Algerian and a Canadian

Terror: Relatives gather at Cairo Airport. Among the 56 passengers on board the plane were 30 Egyptian nationals, 15 French, two Iraqis, one Briton, Belgian, Kuwaiti, Saudi, Sudanese, Chadian, Portuguese, Algerian and a Canadian

Air traffic controllers tried to contact the pilot again at 00.27am for the handover of the plane to Cairo's area of responsibility, but 'despite repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond'.

Air traffic control called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response.

At 00.29am GMT, the aircraft was over the exit point of the Athens FIR, and at 00.29.40am GMT, it vanished from radar. 

The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. 

Search and rescue operations then kicked in 00.45am.   

Egypt's state-run newspaper Al-Ahram quoted an airport official as saying the pilot did not send a distress call and that last contact with the plane was made 10 minutes before it disappeared from radar.

EgyptAir said the plane sent an emergency signal, possibly from an emergency beacon attached to the plane, at 2.26am GMT two hours after it vanished. 

In water crashes, an underwater beacon attached to the aircraft's flight recorders starts to emit a signal or ping which helps search and rescue teams to locate the crash and find the black boxes.   

Egyptian military aircraft and navy ships were taking part in a search operation off Egypt's Mediterranean coast to locate the debris of the plane, which was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members. 

Greece also joined the search and rescue operation, officials at the Hellenic National Defense General Staff said. 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault offered to send military planes and boats to join the Egyptian search for wreckage.

'We are at the disposition of the Egyptian authorities with our military capacities, with our planes, our boats to help in the search for this plane,' he said.  

'We cannot rule anything out': Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport. He said it was too early to say whether a technical problem or a terror attack caused the plane to crash

'We cannot rule anything out': Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport. He said it was too early to say whether a technical problem or a terror attack caused the plane to crash

On high alert: A French officer of the Police aux Frontieres (Borders Police) stands guard at  Charles de Gaulle airport

On high alert: A French officer of the Police aux Frontieres (Borders Police) stands guard at Charles de Gaulle airport

Guard: Police take up position at Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, after the EgyptAir flight vanished from radar

Guard: Police take up position at Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, after the EgyptAir flight vanished from radar

Worry: The EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle was empty first thing this morning after reports of the disappearance began to surface

Worry: The EgyptAir counter at Charles de Gaulle was empty first thing this morning after reports of the disappearance began to surface

He spoke after French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace.

Later, the French military said a Falcon surveillance jet monitoring the Mediterranean for migrants had been diverted to help search for the EgyptAir plane. 

Military spokesman Colonel Gilles Jaron said the jet is joining the Egypt-led search effort and the French navy may send another plane and a ship to the zone.  

BREAKDOWN OF PEOPLE ON BOARD 

  • 56 passengers (including two infants and a child)
  • 3 security personnel
  • 2 cockpit crew
  • 5 cabin crew crew 

Passenger nationalities: 

  • 30 Egyptians
  • 15 French
  • 1 British
  • 1 Belgian
  • 1 Iraqi
  • 1 Kuwaiti
  • 1 Saudi Arabian
  • 1 Chadian
  • 1 Portuguese
  • 1 Algerian
  • 2 Canadians 

Mr Hollande has spoken with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi by telephone and they agreed to 'closely cooperate to establish the circumstances' in which the EgyptAir flight disappeared.

The government statement cited Hollande as saying he shares the anxiety of families.  

Speaking on RTL radio, he said the Paris airport authority has opened a crisis centre to support the families coming to Charles de Gaulle Airport. 

He said 'no theory can be ruled out'.

Search and rescue teams have been sent to a specific location believed to be 40 miles from the Egyptian coast. 

Greece has also joined the search and rescue operation.

Two aircraft, one C-130 and one early warning aircraft have been dispatched, officials at the Hellenic national defence general staff said.

They said one frigate was also heading to the area, and helicopters are on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for potential rescue or recovery operations.

Ahmed Abdel, the vice-chairman of EgyptAir holding company, said no distress signal had been sent, as far as he knew. 

He added that there had been no reported problems with the plane when it left Paris. 

The captain of the plane, Abdel said, had more than 6,000 flying hours. This includes 2,000 on an A320.

He also said there was no special cargo on board and the airline was not informed about any dangerous objects on board. 

As the plane was in Egyptian airspace, their air traffic controllers should have been in contact with the flight team.

However, it does not necessarily mean the plane was over land at the time, as Egyptian air space stretches over the Mediterranean Sea. 

According to flight schedules, it was the plane's fifth flight of the day. 

Shortly after news of the disappearance broke, the Egyptair website crashed.

The Airbus A320 is a short-to-mid range aircraft and is one of the most commonly used in the world that first entered circulation in 1986. 

It has a capacity of 150 passengers and a range of more than 3,000 miles.  

FROM A JOVIAL CONVERSATION WITH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TO RADIO SILENCE: HOW MS804 VANISHED IN MID-AIR

11.09pm local time (9.09pm GMT) Wednesday:

EgyptAir flight MS804 departs Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport bound for Cairo with 56 passengers and 10 crew including three security guards.

2.24am Greek time (11.24 GMT) Thursday:

Airbus A320 enters the Greek air traffic control area, also known as the flight information region (FIR).

The plane was identified and approved on its flight course before passing into the next section of air traffic control where it was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR.

00.05 GMT:

The last communication traffic controllers had with the pilot found him in good spirits. The captain 'was in a good mood and gave thanks in Greek' when authorised to exit the Athens FIR. 

00.27 GMT:

Air traffic controllers try to contact the pilot again for the handover of the plane to Cairo's area of responsibility, but despite 'repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond'.

Air traffic control called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. 

00.29am GMT: 

The aircraft crosses over the exit point of the Athens air traffic control area.

00.29.40secs GMT:

The jet vanishes from radar 170 miles from the Egyptian coast.

The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. 

00.45am GMT

Search and rescue operation gets underway

4.26am local time (2.26 GMT) 

There is confusion over a new distress signal that was reportedly received by an Egyptian military tower, two hours after the last confirmed contact with the aircraft. It is believed to have come from the aircraft's emergency devices. 

An EgyptAir plane was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus in March. A man who admitted to the hijacking and is described by Cypriot authorities as 'psychologically unstable' is in custody in Cyprus.

The incident renewed security concerns months after a Russian passenger plane was blown out of the sky over the Sinai Peninsula. 

The Russian plane crashed in Sinai on October 31, killing all 224 people on board. Moscow said it was brought down by an explosive device, and a local branch of the extremist Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for planting it.

With its archaeological sites and Red Sea resorts, Egypt is a traditional destination for Western tourists. 

In 1999, EgyptAir Flight 1990 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing all 217 people aboard.

U.S. investigators filed a final report that concluded its co-pilot switched off the autopilot and pointed the Boeing 767 downward. 

But Egyptian officials rejected the notion of suicide altogether, insisting some mechanical reason caused the crash.

EgyptAir has provided the following numbers for those wanting more information or who may have families on board:

080077770000 from any landline in Egypt

+ 202 25989320 outside Egypt or any mobile in Egypt

FRENCH SPY CHIEF WARNED COUNTRY WAS 'CLEARLY BEING TARGETED BY ISIS' A WEEK BEFORE EGYPTAIR CRASH

The head of France's internal intelligence agency had warned the country was being 'clearly targeted' by ISIS a week before the Paris to Cairo flight took off.

It has now emerged that Patrick Calvar, the head of France's DGSI agency, told a parliamentary committee on national defence in Paris on May 10 that ISIS was planning 'a new form of attack'. 

France was targeted twice last year – with the Charlie Hebdo attack in January and the Paris attacks in November – and the French security forces are on a state of high alert.

Concern: Patrick Calvar (pictured),  head of French internal intelligence, warned last week that ISIS was planning new attacks on France

Concern: Patrick Calvar (pictured), head of French internal intelligence, warned last week that ISIS was planning new attacks on France

Mr Calvar was quoted in The Local as saying: 'We risk being confronted with a new form of attack: a terrorist campaign characterised by leaving explosive devices in places where big crowds gather, multiplying this type of action to create a climate of panic.'

He made no mention of attacks on aircraft.

But he said he believed France was 'the country most threatened' by ISIS, which is often known as Daesh, and also warned that Al-Qaeda remained a threat and was champing at the bit to 'restore its image' as a major player, especially in the Maghreb and the Arabian peninsula.

Missing: A closer locator map shows where the flight lost contact with radars around 170 miles from the the Egyptian coast

Missing: A closer locator map shows where the flight lost contact with radars around 170 miles from the the Egyptian coast

Hunt for MS804: Several vessels are seen on radar joining the search for the doomed Airbus A320 in the Mediterranean

Hunt for MS804: Several vessels are seen on radar joining the search for the doomed Airbus A320 in the Mediterranean

The airline then tweeted that there were 56 passengers on board and 10 crew members 

The airline then tweeted that there were 56 passengers on board and 10 crew members 

The airline revealed that the flight had gone missing after posting this Tweet early on Thursday morning 

The airline revealed that the flight had gone missing after posting this Tweet early on Thursday morning 

They then confirmed that the flight lost contact with air traffic controllers 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace

They then confirmed that the flight lost contact with air traffic controllers 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace

HIJACKINGS, PILOT 'SUICIDES' AND MOUNTAIN CRASHES: EGYPTAIR'S LONG HISTORY OF AVIATION DISASTERS

March 19, 1972: Flight 763 Cairo to Aden

The EgyptAir plane crashed into the Shamsan Mountains on approach to Aden International Airport, killing all 30 people on board.

August 23, 1976: Flight 321 Cairo to Luxor

Three armed terrorists hijacked the flight with 95 passengers and six crew on board as it neared Luxor airport in southern Egypt. 

The men, claiming to be from the Abd Al-Nasir movement, demanded to be flown to Tripoli in Libya but the Boeing 737 landed at Luxor after they were told it needed to refuel. 

Once there, the hijackers demanded the release of five Libyan prisoners from a Cairo jail who had been detained for plotting assassination attempts on dissident Libyan and Yemeni political leaders. 

But army officers successfully stormed the plane and the hijackers were arrested. No-one was harmed in the incident.

December 25, 1976: Flight 864 Cairo to Bangkok

The Boeing 707 flying from Cairo to Don Mueang International Airport crashed in an industrial complex in Bangkok, killing all 52 people on board and 19 on the ground. Pilot error was blamed for the crash.

October 17, 1982: Flight 771 Cairo to Geneva

On approaching Geneva, the plane, carrying 182 people, landed 50m before the runway and bounced before sliding off the left side. 

It turned 270 degrees and continued to slide backwards before coming to a rest with its right wing ripped off. No-one was killed.

November 23, 1985: Flight 648 Athens to Cairo

Three Palestinian members of terrorist organisation Abu Nidal hijacked the Boeing 737 with 89 passengers and six crew shortly after its 8pm takeoff from Athens. 

A security guard on the plane shot and killed one of the terrorists before he was killed and two flight attendants were wounded. 

The hijackers demanded to be flown to Libya but the plane had to land at Malta to refuel. 

The two wounded crew members and 11 passengers were released at Malta airport. 

However, the hijackers threatened to kill a passenger every 10 minutes when Maltese authorities refused to refuel the plane unless everyone on board was released. 

A stand-off commenced and two U.S. passengers were executed. Egyptian forces eventually stormed the plane and 56 more passengers were killed, leading to a total of 60 dead, including two hijackers. Thirty eight people survived, including one hijacker.

October 22, 1993: Flight 767 Cairo to Sana'a

A man carrying a knife hijacked the plane and demanded to be taken to Aden in Yemen. He was arrested after the plane landed in Sana'a, Yemen.

March 27, 1996: Flight 104 Luxor to Cairo

An Egyptian man and his teenage son hijacked the Airbus A320 shortly after it departed from Luxor in southern Egypt. 

They claimed to have explosives and wanted to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to deliver him a 'message from God'. The plane was diverted and landed at Derna-Martuba in Libya where the hijackers surrendered to authorities.

October 19, 1999: Flight 838 Istanbul to Cairo

A male passenger threatened the crew with a knife and demanded that the Boeing 737 be diverted to London or Germany. 

The hijacker was successful, with the plane landing at Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport. However once there, all passengers were released and German police arrested the hijacker.

October 31, 1999: Flight 990 Los Angeles to Cairo

A Boeing 767 carrying 217 on board crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 100km south of Natucket Island, Massachusetts. The official probable cause of the crash was suicide by the co-pilot.

May 11, 2000: Flight 233 Cairo to Aswan

A male passenger on the Airbus A321 claimed a jar of hair gel was a bomb and told the chief flight attendant that he wanted to go to Afghanistan to find work. 

He then tried to storm the cockpit but was overpowered by crew members before gaining entry. The plane, with 19 passengers on board, landed safely in Aswan in southern Egypt. The offender was charged with air piracy and threatening the lives of passengers.

May 7, 2002: Flight 843 Cairo to Tunis

The Boeing 737 with 62 people on board crashed into a hill near the Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunisia during poor weather conditions. 

Eleven passengers and three crew members died. The investigation found the minimum safe altitude warning device at the airport did not cover the relevant runway.

Oct 21, 2009: Flight 738 Istanbul to Cairo

A Sudanese passenger on the Boeing 737 was armed with a knife and held-up a flight attendant minutes after take-off. He demanded the flight be diverted to Jerusalem so that he could 'liberate it'. The man, who was intoxicated, was overpowered by two air marshals.

July 29, 2011: Flight 667 Cairo to Saudi Arabia

The Boeing 777 with 317 people on board had a fire in the cockpit while still on the ground at Cairo Airport. Seven people were injured, no-one was killed. The plane was written off.

March 29, 2016: Flight 181 Alexandria to Cairo

Egyptian man Seif Eldin Mustafa hijacked the Airbus A320 after it left Alexandria in northern Egypt and forced it to divert to Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. 

Once landed, Mustafa - who was wearing a fake suicide belt - took several passengers and crew hostage and demanded to see his Cypriot ex-wife. 

However shortly after, he released most passengers and crew before surrendering about seven hours later.

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