ATHENS, Greece: An EgyptAir airliner which went missing on Thursday morning had made ‘sudden swerves’ mid-air and plunged before dropping off radars in the southern Mediterranean, Greece’s defense minister said.
“At 3.39 a.m. the course of the aircraft was south and southeast of Kassos and Karpathos (islands) ... immediately after it entered Cairo FIR and made swerves and a descent I describe; 90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right,” Defense Minister Panos Kammenos told a news conference.
Greek authorities had mounted a search in the area south of the island of Karpathos without result so far, he said.
Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority says traffic controllers’ last communication with the EgyptAir pilot found him in good spirits. Greek air traffic controllers lost contact as the flight headed into the Egyptian area of responsibility.
The Civil Aviation Authority says the flight entered the Greek air traffic control area, or FIR, at 02:24 Greek time (2324 GMT), was identified and approved on its flight course and passed into the next section of air traffic control and was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR.
Air traffic controllers tried to contact the pilot again at 03:27 local time for the handover of the plane to Cairo’s area of responsibility, but “despite repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond.”
Air traffic control then called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. At 03:29, the aircraft was over the exit point of the Athens FIR, and at 03:29.40 it vanished from radar. The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. Search and rescue operations began at 03:45.
French President Francois Hollande has confirmed the crash of the EgyptAir flight, and says no hypothesis is ruled out or preferred, including an accident or a terrorist act.
Hollande says: “When we have the truth we need to draw all the conclusions.”
Speaking at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Hollande adds: “At this stage, we must give priority to solidarity toward the families” of the victims.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the disappearance of the plane.
The prosecutor said in a statement Thursdya that its collective accident department opened the investigation with the national gendarme service.
It said “no hypothesis is favored or ruled out at this stage.”
Airbus spokesman Jacques Rocca says Thursday the company is aware of the disappearance but “we have no official information at this stage of the certitude of an accident.”
The A320 is one of the most widely used Airbus planes, 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.
“At 3.39 a.m. the course of the aircraft was south and southeast of Kassos and Karpathos (islands) ... immediately after it entered Cairo FIR and made swerves and a descent I describe; 90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right,” Defense Minister Panos Kammenos told a news conference.
Greek authorities had mounted a search in the area south of the island of Karpathos without result so far, he said.
Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority says traffic controllers’ last communication with the EgyptAir pilot found him in good spirits. Greek air traffic controllers lost contact as the flight headed into the Egyptian area of responsibility.
The Civil Aviation Authority says the flight entered the Greek air traffic control area, or FIR, at 02:24 Greek time (2324 GMT), was identified and approved on its flight course and passed into the next section of air traffic control and was approved by the controller for the exit point of the Greek FIR.
Air traffic controllers tried to contact the pilot again at 03:27 local time for the handover of the plane to Cairo’s area of responsibility, but “despite repeated calls, the aircraft did not respond.”
Air traffic control then called on the emergency frequency and again there was no response. At 03:29, the aircraft was over the exit point of the Athens FIR, and at 03:29.40 it vanished from radar. The Greek authority said the military was asked for help in case the plane could be located on a military radar, but there was no sign of it. Search and rescue operations began at 03:45.
French President Francois Hollande has confirmed the crash of the EgyptAir flight, and says no hypothesis is ruled out or preferred, including an accident or a terrorist act.
Hollande says: “When we have the truth we need to draw all the conclusions.”
Speaking at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Hollande adds: “At this stage, we must give priority to solidarity toward the families” of the victims.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the disappearance of the plane.
The prosecutor said in a statement Thursdya that its collective accident department opened the investigation with the national gendarme service.
It said “no hypothesis is favored or ruled out at this stage.”
Airbus spokesman Jacques Rocca says Thursday the company is aware of the disappearance but “we have no official information at this stage of the certitude of an accident.”
The A320 is one of the most widely used Airbus planes, 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.
