EgyptAir Flight 804 Missing (cnn.com)

dark.nebulae writes: An EgyptAir flight disappeared on it's way from Paris to Egypt resulting in loss of 56 passengers and 10 crew members. The plane was flying at 37,000 feet when it vanished shortly after entering Egyptian airspace. It was suppose to land in Cairo at 3:15 a.m. Thursday after leaving Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport at 11:09 p.m. local time. CNN's aviation correspondent Richard Quest said, "Planes just do not fall out of the sky for no reason, particularly at 37,000 feet." He said the plane vanished while cruising -- the safest part of the journey. We'll update the story as more details emerge.

UPDATE 5/20/16 3:57 AM (UTC): Egypt's civil aviation minister says it's more likely terrorism than a technical issue. Greek officials said the plane swerved sharply and plunged from 37,000 feet down to the Mediterranean as the plane left Greek airspace for Egyptian airspace. [Source]

Comments

BBC article with links for family members

[johnjones]

also BBC source

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-36309492

Re: I'm glad Slashdot posted this

[oobayly]

In the streets, not in the airport. Even the Brussels bombers had to blow themselves up in the check in area because it's was doubtful they'd have got though security.

Re:It's amazing

[DNS-and-BIND]

What on Earth are you blathering about? Who modded you Insightful? We didn't "lose" the aircraft, ADS-B was functioning, here's the full playback of its flight, including where it is right now. Blame our idiotic media for using words like "disappeared" instead of more precise verbiage. The media really are stupid, the journalists that work for them really don't know anything. The US President's staff has been playing them like a fiddle.

He freely admits that he did so by manipulating a select group of reporters that he and staff think are idiots and molded them into his own personal echo chamber. "They literally know nothing."

Re:Paris isn't exactly French these days.

[Bongo]

Well, not exactly. There's several books by Arabs, Moslems, etc. who point out that there really is an Islamic ideology which aims to take over the world. Think of it like Communism. Certainly, Western Islamophobia exists, but so does Islamic Westphobia. And this isn't to paint everyone with the same brush. They are quite clear though, that Islamism, or whatever you want to call it, exists, and it isn't just a reaction to bigotry and marginalisation. Besides, too often, even the general public notices that this or that young radical, actually came from a nice middle class neighbourhood and was studying medicine at university. It is an ideology. It blocks reasoned thinking. And it has some support at all levels. When the OIC (representing 57 Muslim countries) claims that "universal human rights" are ok but ONLY the ones which don't contradict Islam, that's part of the problem. Yes, Islamophobia exists, but it isn't what's driving the ideology.

Re: LOL

[Anonymous Coward]

It isn't confirmed that this is a terrorist attack. Not at all.

Here's my understanding of what's actually happened:

Greek air traffic controllers made contact with the plane in the last check-in, when things were normal and the pilot seemed in good spirits. Thirty minutes later, when everything appeared normal, the Greek air traffic controllers attempted to contact the plane. This was about ten miles from the edge of Greek airspace. There was no response from the pilots. About a minute and a half later, the aircraft dropped from 37,000 feet to 15,000 feet, while swerving to the left and spinning to the right. Contact was lost at 10,000 feet.

That information says it's highly likely that the plane crashed into the Mediterranean. I don't think there's much doubt of that. Beyond that, it's virtually impossible to know what happened. I can think of multiple things that could explain what happened.

1) There may have been a mechanical problem that required the attention of the flight crew and prevented them from responding. A loss of control such as what would occur in a stall could explain these maneuvers.

2) A naferious act by the pilot could explain these behaviors. There have been multiple instances previously of pilot suicide. That could explain these maneuvers.

3) A terrorist attack could explain these maneuvers, especially if the crew was prevented from responding to the calls. That's all speculation.

I don't think it's clear at all that terror was responsible. I do think it's virtually certain the plane crashed into the Mediterranean. It's extremely likely that debris will be found soon because of the large number of search assets in the region and that those waters are heavily trafficked. But it's too early to say it's an act of terror.

Re:Paris isn't exactly French these days.

[GLMDesigns]

Muslim population is 10% and growing. Are they integrating with Post-Catholic France? No.

At what point would you know longer call it a "few muslims"?

Re:Paris isn't exactly French these days.

[Eunuchswear]

How many Syrian refugees have Islamic countries taken in?

About 4.4 million.

(2.7 million in Turkey, 1.5 million in Lebanon and 1.2 million in Jordan).

What was your point?

Re: LOL

[PmanAce]

That is not racism since any race can practice Islam.