Missing EgyptAir plane - investigations into cause of the crash

The EgyptAir flight, initially reported as missing, is now officially confirmed to have crashed. The conflicting information about an emergency call, which was supposedly issued two hours after the disappearance of the machine, had rendered a kidnapping likely. The Egyptian government remains unclear in its statements. French President Hollande however, declared that it is "unfortunately clear that the machine has crashed".

A terrorist attack cannot be excluded

Since the aircraft with 66 passengers on board suddenly disappeared of all radars in the early morning hours of Thursday, an extensive search has been put into motion. Both Greek and Egyptian rescue teams are active on water, in the air and on land.

As long as the black box is missing, it remains difficult to pinpoint the cause of the crash. Nevertheless, many signs indicate human action; the crew apparently emitted no emergency call, the machine did not lose altitude before vanishing, the flight conditions were good and the engine was just over ten years old .

Crisis for EgyptAir

For Cairo, this is another disaster after a series of setbacks. Since the uprising during the Arab Spring,  the country has suffered from recurring terrorist attacks. The tourism industry, an integral pillar for the country’s economy, has since been declining steadily and the airline EgyptAir has, according to their own account, recorded more than one billion Euros in loss since the revolution.

Written by team flight-delayed.co.uk