EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo missing with 66 on board

An EgyptAir flight carrying 66 passengers and crew on a flight from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean Sea.

Egypt Air said the plane sent an emergency signal – possibly from an emergency beacon attached to the plane – at 04:26 a.m., two hours after it disappeared from radar screens.

Officials with the airline and the Egyptian civil aviation department told Reuters they believed the Airbus A320 had crashed into the sea.

“The theory that the plane crashed and fell is now confirmed after the preliminary search and after it did not arrive at any of the nearby airports.

“All causes for the disaster are open, whether it is a major technical fault or a terrorist action or any other circumstance.

“This will be ascertained when we inspect the plane’s wreckage and transcribe its black boxes, “a senior aviation officer said.

In water crashes, an underwater locator beacon attached to the aircraft’s flight recorders starts to emit a signal or ping.

This helps the search and rescue teams to locate the boxes, and the location of the crash.

The aircraft was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two infants, and 10 crew, EgyptAir said.

They included 30 Egyptians and 15 French nationals, along with nationals from 10 other countries.