Egyptian Aviation Ministry: Passengers on missing EgyptAir jet include 30 Egyptians, 14 French, 1 Briton
Egyptair Flight From Paris to Cairo Vanishes From Radar With 66 Aboard.
An Egyptair flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board disappeared from radar early Thursday, according to the airline.
Egyptair said Flight MS804 left Charles de Gaulle Airport at 11:09 p.m. Paris time (5:09 p.m. ET).
The jet was about 10 miles into Egyptian airspace at an altitude of nearly 37,000 feet when it vanished at around 2:45 a.m. local time (8:45 p.m. ET), according to officials and radar trackers.
There were 56 passengers — including three children — along with seven crew and three "security" personnel on board the Airbus A320, according to Egyptair. The airline initially had said a total of 69 people were on board but later revised the figure.
While there was no immediate indication of whether terrorism was involved, Egyptian aviation security has been under scrutiny since a passenger jet crashed after taking off from the country's Sharm el-Sheikh airport in October.
ISIS claimed responsibility for downing the Metrojet plane and the tragedy raised questions about how any potential explosives may have made it on board and whether there were security failings on Egypt's end.
In March, an Egyptair flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked by a man claiming to have an explosive belt strapped to his body. The aircraft was diverted to Cyprus, and the belt was later deemed to be a fake.
Egyptair said the flight was carrying 30 Egyptian nationals along with citizens from 11 other countries — including Canada, France, the U.K., Belgium and Iraq.
An official at the Paris airport told NBC News that a crisis center would be set up shortly to receive families of passengers seeking information about their loved ones.
The Egyptian Information Ministry said a working team had been formed to assist the families of those on board.
There was no immediate indication as to what might have happened to the jet and there was no immediate comment from French authorities. Airbus said it was aware of the reports but had "no further details."
Egyptian authorities told NBC News that search operations were under way over the Mediterranean Sea and Egyptair confirmed that the military was assisting.
The Greek military confirmed that one of its frigate ships and two of its aircraft were assisting in the search. Two Greek helicopters also were on standby on the island of Karpathos, Cmdr. Vasilios Beletsiotis told NBC News.
The airline said the plane was made in 2003 and that the pilot had 6,275 flying hours, while the co-pilot had 2,766.
