Egyptian plane 'missing until crash remains found'

The Egyptian plane that disappeared on its way from Paris to Cairo is deemed missing until its crash remains are found, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said.

During a press conference Thursday, the minister called on the mass media to stop speculations on the incident, expressing sadness over the whole situation.

The minister said he will continue to use the term "missing" until the plane or its remains are found, adding that this does not mean that he was confuting any other possibilities, including the occurrence of a terror operation or a technical failure. 

Speaking about the plane's disappearance circumstances, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said Flight MS804, an Airbus 320, coming from Paris, disappeared from the radar at 2:40 a.m. with 56 passengers, seven cabin crew members and three security personnel on board.

The last contact between the plane and the control tower was at exactly 2:30 a.m. before disappearing from the radar, the minister said during the press conference.

At 2:50 a.m., it was confirmed that the plane was no longer contactable, he added.

The nationalities of the passengers are as follow: 30 Egyptians, 15 French (including a baby), one Briton, two Iraqis, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi, one Sudanese, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and one Canadian, he said.

Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said the families of the plane's passengers were hosted in a hotel until the vision was clear, adding that French families in Paris will be offered free tickets to come to Egypt and follow up the developments closely.

Asked about the plane search operations, Fathy said the search was conducted by planes and naval forces by the Egyptian side, noting that Greece has also helped with its planes and sea ships.

The minister said it was too soon to announce the names of the passengers, especially that the fate of the plane has not been confirmed yet.

There are contradicted reports about the altitude of the plane during its disappearance from the Greek side, as it said it was at 22,000 feet but earlier information suggested it was 37,000 feet, Fathy said during a press conference Thursday.

"The possibility of a plane crash has not been ruled out, but for the time being we will stick to the term 'missing'", the minister said.

Asked about media reports that the plane had a technical malfunction from 2013, the minister said that if there was a technical malfunction at the plane at the time, it was sure fixed and the plane has been operating efficiently.

This speculation about a glitch from 2013 is completely baseless, he said, adding that ties cannot be drawn between it and the plane's disappearance.

Asked about the veracity of reports that the Egyptian plane had sent an SOS signal before its disappearance, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy rebutted the claims, saying that no SOS signals were received from the plane.

The Egyptian side is committed to cooperating with its French peer in exchanging information about the incident, Fathy said.

Speaking about his meeting with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, he said the president gave directives on solely depending on facts in the plane's investigations and overcoming any predictions or hearsay.

No one will be held accountable until the investigations are over and the incident's circumstances are revealed, he added.

As for coordination with other countries to help Egypt in the plane search, he said coordination was made with Greece, which said it was ready to help, adding that the search findings will be announced transparently and credibly.

As for Russian intelligence statements about similarities between the Russian plane that crashed over Sinai last year and today's incident, the minister said he will not rely on possibilities and that such countries are being contacted to verify whether their claims were based on facts or just speculations.

The search team has located the main search point at south of Karpathos Island and the search scope will be expanded depending on new developments, he added.

Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said the French side had expressed real desire to cooperate on the missing plane.

As for a Greek announcement banning flying over the plane's disappearance area, the minister said the decision was to allow Greek military jets and vessels to search better.

Asked about Prime Minister Sherif Ismail's remarks that he does not rule out the possibility of a terrorist attack, the minister said he was not excluding any possibilities, including the terrorism one, but does not want to build his theories on small possibilities.

The incident did not affect the workflow at airports, he noted.

Asked about convening with the French side, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said that the meeting will indeed take place under followed international procedures, but noting that the search is ongoing for the plane crash remains first.

Cooperation with neighboring countries is taking place through satellite images to find the missing plane, Fathy said.

As for French President Francois Hollande's announcement that the plane has crashed, the minister said he did not deny that the plane crashed but he was trying to use the most appropriate term to describe the incident.

The crash remains have not been found, and until then, the plane will be considered missing, he said. 

Asked about the last contact between the Egyptian navigation authorities and the missing plane, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said the last contact took place at 2:30 a.m. as the plane was about to enter the Egyptian airspace.

After contacting the Greek navigation authorities, it was revealed that the plane was just eight kilometers away from the Egyptian coasts.

When a foreign reporter asked the minister how safe was it to deal with EgyptAir, Fathy said the question was just speculations and that the incident should not be generalized and should be dealt with individually.

The occurrence of a terror attack was more likely the cause of the plane crash more than technical issues, he affirmed.

More information about the plane's passengers, their identities and ages and whether children were aboard the plane will be given, he added. 

Asked about the possibility of extending the plane search scope, Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy said if the plane remains were not found in the specified area, the search scope will be extended.

The search site is located between Crete Island and another island in south of Greece, he said.

There is a big possibility that the plane's black box is under the sea, he said.

As for the Greek defense minister's statements that the plane made a sudden swerve before falling, Fathy said it was possible but "we have no evidence until now."

Source : MENA