A flight traveling from Paris to Cairo crashed early Thursday over the Mediterranean Sea with 66 people onboard. An exact cause has not been released, although Egypt’s Aviation Minister says a terror attack is more likely than a mechanical issue.
The flight took off from Charles de Gaulle Airport late Wednesday. Greek authorities say the aircraft made “sharp turns” and plunged from 37,000 feet into the Mediterranean. The search continues for the plane with reports of “large floating objects”, possibly debris.
LATEST on the investigation into #Egyptair flight #MS804. https://t.co/qADY6MpFzw
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) May 19, 2016
The plane was carrying 10 crew members and 56 passengers including two babies and a child. Loved ones of passengers gathered at both Cairo International and at Charles de Gaulle airports, waiting to hear the latest updates.
This disaster comes less than two months after a man hijacked an EgyptAir flight, claiming to have explosives. All 72 passengers and crew were released unharmed. Authorities say it was a false alarm, and the man appeared “psychologically unstable”. Back in 1999 an EgyptAir flight carrying 217 passengers from Los Angeles to Cairo crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing everyone onboard. The cause was ruled a “deliberate act”.
