1. There Are 56 Passengers & 10 Crew on the Plane
The airline says there are 56 passengers and 10 crew onboard the Airbus A320-232 plane. The passengers include 53 adults, two infants and one child. The crew includes two cockpit crew, five cabin crew and three security guards.
An EgyptAir representative told CNN that the pilot has 6,000 flying hours and the first officer has 4,000 flying hours.
EgyptAir previously said there were 69 people on board.
The plane departed from Paris at 11:09 p.m. local time. It was expected to arrive in Cairo at 3:05 a.m. local time. The plane disappeared at about 2:45 a.m. local time.
EgyptAir has set-up free contact numbers for families of passengers: “080077770000 from any landline in Egypt and + 202 25989320 outside Egypt or any mobile in Egypt.”
2. Online Radar Shows the Plane Last Over the Mediterranean Sea
Online radar from Flight Radar 24 shows the plane’s last known location as over the Mediterranean Sea.
You can see the plane’s flight path here.3. The Plane Disappeared After Entering Egyptian Airspace, the Airline Says
EgyptAir has clarified that the plane disappeared from radar 10 miles (16km) into Egyptian airspace, the airline said in a tweet in Arabic.
The airline said in a previous tweet, which was also in Arabic, that the plane lost contact with radar at 02:45 Cairo time at a height of 37,000 feet. EgyptAir initially said the plane was 80 miles, or 10 minutes, from Egyptian airspace.
EgyptAir tweeted that authorities have been notified and search and rescue teams are being prepared.
3. The Plane Disappeared After Entering Egyptian Airspace, the Airline Says
EgyptAir has clarified that the plane disappeared from radar 10 miles (16km) into Egyptian airspace, the airline said in a tweet in Arabic.
EgyptAir tweeted that authorities have been notified and search and rescue teams are being prepared.
4. The Plane Is More Than 12 Years Old
The plane, an Airbus A320, was built in France and delivered in 2003 and is 12 years and 9 months old, according to JetPhotos.net. You can see a photo of the missing plane above.
It’s registration is SU-GCC.
The plane flew from Cairo to Paris earlier on May 18 and was making a return trip, according to FlightRadar24. You can see its full flight history here.
5. An EgyptAir Flight Was Hijacked Earlier This Year
EgyptAir co-pilot Hamad el-Kaddah climbs out of the cockpit window of an EgyptAir Airbus A-320 parked at the tarmac of Larnaca airport after being hijacked and diverted to Cyprus on March 29, 2016. (Getty)
An EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked in March.
EgyptAir Flight 181 was hijacked by a lone man, who claimed to have an explosive belt, on March 29.
The plane landed in Cyprus at Larnaca International Airport and no one on board was injured.
The hijacker, Seif Eddin Mustafa, was seeking asylum in Cyprus and was taken into custody without incident after landing. The belt did not contain explosives. His motive was later determined to be connected to his ex-wife. Officials said he was an “idiot,” not a terrorist.
The hijacking came just months after a Russian commercial plane crashed in Egypt. Metrojet Flight 9268, an Airbus321, disintgrated above Sinai after departing from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport. It was heading to Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Russian officials have said a bomb on board the plane caused the crash, but Egyptian authorities have not confirmed that and have so far said there were no links to terrorism, according to The Atlantic.
ISIS claimed in its magazine, Dabiq, that it had downed the plane. The so-called Islamic State terrorist group released photos claiming to show the bomb used to take down the plane.