An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 EgyptAir employees was reported missing on Thursday.
The maker of the EgyptAir plane that has gone missing says it’s unclear what happened, according to the Associated Press. EgyptAir says Airbus A320 Flight 804 disappeared on its way to Cairo from Paris. The Boeing 737 normally travels the 1,993-mile distance in four hours and 20 minutes and arrives in Cairo at 3:05 a.m.
The flight left Paris about 15 minutes late, according to departure records. The flight was lost from radar at 2:45 a.m. local time, according to the airline.
Airbus spokesman Jacques Rocca said Thursday that the company is aware of the disappearance but “we have no official information at this stage of the certitude of an accident,” the AP reported.
The plane had 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 EgyptAir employees, the airline said via Twitter. EgyptAir tweeted the nationalities of the passengers as follows: 15 from France, 30 from Egypt, one from the U.K, one from Belgium, two from Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one from Saudi Arabia, one from Sudan, one Chadian, one from Portugal, one from Algeria and one from Canada.
Egyptians gather outside the arrivals section of Cairo International Airport, Egypt, Thursday, May 19, 2016. An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo carrying 66 people disappeared from radar early Thursday morning, the airline said.
The company has provided free contact numbers for loved ones: 080077770000 from any landline in Egypt and + 202 25989320 outside Egypt or any mobile in Egypt.
National carrier EgyptAir said the plane was traveling at a height of 37,000 feet and vanished 10 miles after entering Egyptian airspace. According to flightradar24.com, the plane’s last known position was above the Mediterranean Sea, Reuters reported. The pilot had 6,000 flight hours, according to AP.
The A320 is one of the most used Airbus planes. It is a single-aisle plane that usually seats about 150 people and is used for short- and medium-range flights around the world. Nearly 4,000 are in operation, according the company’s website.
What were the weather conditions?
Conditions were clear and calm when the plane crossed over the Mediterranean Sea, CNN reported.
Who is looking for the missing jet?
Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said search and rescue teams were looking for the missing jet. The airline tweeted that special teams from the Egyptian Armed Forces were are at site for inspection and rescue.
