Crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 (2016)
EgyptAir Flight 804 was a tragic aviation incident that occurred on May 19, 2016, when the Airbus A320, en route from Paris to Cairo, disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean Sea. The flight was carrying 66 individuals, including passengers from multiple countries. Initial speculation suggested a possible terrorist act; however, subsequent investigations revealed that the crash was caused by a fire originating from an undetermined source.
Search efforts began shortly after the flight's disappearance, leading to the discovery of debris and human remains off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. A recovery operation located the flight's cockpit voice recorder and emergency transmitter, which provided critical evidence. By July 2016, investigators confirmed that the aircraft had experienced a fire in the cockpit before breaking apart midair and crashing into the sea.
The investigation concluded that there was no indication of deliberate actions or terrorism involved in the crash. As of September 2016, Egyptian authorities categorized the incident as an accident, though the precise cause of the onboard fire remained unclear. The event marked a significant moment in aviation safety discussions and highlighted the need for thorough investigations into flight incidents.
Subject Terms
Crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 (2016)
Date: May 19, 2016
Place: Mediterranean Sea
Summary
In May 2016, EgyptAir Flight 804 disappeared from radar while flying from Paris to Cairo and was later discovered to have crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. Investigators initially suspected terrorist involvement but later confirmed that the crash was caused by a fire from an unknown source.
Key Events
- May 19, 2016—EgyptAir Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo disappears over the Mediterranean Sea.
- May 20, 2016—Egyptian naval forces discover debris and bodies from the flight off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt.
- May 26, 2016—The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announces detection of the flight’s emergency locator beacon from the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea.
- June 15, 2016—Private search vessel John Lethbridge is deployed to search for the flight’s emergency transmitters.
- July 16, 2016—Egyptian authorities announce that recovery of data from the flight recorder indicates a fire in the aircraft’s cockpit.
Status
As of September 2016, evidence from the ongoing investigation of the crash suggested that a fire occurred on the plane and that the aircraft came apart midair before crashing into the sea. No further explanation for the crash has been given, though Egyptian authorities believe that the incident was an accident and no evidence was discovered indicating that the crash was deliberate or related to any kind of terrorist activity.
In-Depth Overview
At approximately 11:09 p.m., EgyptAir Flight 804, a French-manufactured Airbus A320 plane, left Paris on route to Cairo International Airport. According to flight records, the plane was carrying sixty-six passengers, including forty Egyptians, fifteen French citizens, two Iraqis, two Canadians, and one passenger each from Algeria, England, Belgium, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. In addition to passengers, the flight had a ten-person crew, including Captain Mohammed Shoqeir and First Officer Mohamed Assem, five flight attendants, and three security personnel.
At 2:26 a.m., Shoqeir spoke with traffic controllers in Greece, at which time the flight was progressing normally. The flight made radar contact with EgyptAir at approximately 2:30 a.m., and entered Egyptian airspace at 2:37 a.m. Radar indicated that the plane made a 90-degree left turn and then a 360-degree left turn, suggesting that the plane had experienced some kind of problem during the flight. Radar contact indicated that the plane had been flying at 37,000 feet, then plunged to 15,000 feet just before disappearing from radar at about 2:45 a.m. After the flight was reported missing, the Egyptian civil aviation minister Sherif Fathy issued a report that there was a high likelihood that the loss of the flight was a terrorist incident, though the Egyptian government later retracted the statement.
Search efforts began on May 19, with the Greek government donating aircraft and naval vehicles to search the Mediterranean Sea around the island of Karpathos. A Greek defense ministry report later showed that a merchant vessel operating near Karpathos had reported seeing a "flame in the sky." On May 20, Egyptian naval vessels discovered debris and body parts off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. On May 26, Egypt’s Al Ahram news agency reported that search vessels had detected signals from the plane’s emergency locator transmitter. The signals decreased the initial search area of approximately 14,000 square kilometers to an area of just over 2 square kilometers.
On May 26, the Egyptian government contracted with private companies involved in deep-sea search operations to search for the black box transmitter from Flight 804 and the ship’s emergency transmitter. The private salvage vessel John Lethbridge, owned by Comex Deep Sea Salvage, began searching the seabed on May 26. On June 15, the vessel discovered sections of the main cabin on the seafloor. On June 16, the crew of the John Lethbridge located the cockpit voice recorder and, the following day, recovered the plane’s emergency transmitter. Egyptian authorities announced that major repairs were needed before data from either flight recorder could be interpreted. The emergency flight recorder devices were sent to France’s investigation and Analysis Bureau (BEA) for repair and, on June 27, the French government officially opened a manslaughter investigation into the incident as fifteen of the passengers were French citizens.
On June 29, Egyptian civil aviation officials announced that evidence suggested a fire occurred on board the plane immediately prior to the crash. Data from the repaired flight recorder devices indicated smoke on board the aircraft and later evidence indicated that the pilot had been trying to extinguish a fire in the plane’s cockpit. The discovery of debris with soot and smoke damage confirmed the theory that an onboard fire precipitated the crash. Additionally, the discovery of partial debris distributed over a large area indicated that the aircraft broke up in midair before crashing into the ocean rather than disintegrating after crashing into the ocean.
Key Figures
Mohamed Assem: First officer/copilot of EgyptAir Flight 804.
Sherif Fathy: Egyptian civil aviation minister who released the official Egyptian government statements on the crash.
Mohammed Shoqeir: Captain/pilot of EgyptAir Flight 804.
Bibliography
Brascia, L., & Shoichet, C. E. (2016, July 6). EgyptAir voice recorder indicates fire on doomed plane. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/05/middleeast/egyptair-cockpit-voice-recorder-fire/
EgyptAir crash: Flight MS804 bodies are recovered. (2016, July 4). BBC News. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36700575
Egypt says Flight 804 "black box" fixed as France opens manslaughter case. (2016, June 28). The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/27/egyptair-flight-ms804-manslaughter-inquiry-opens
Major new twist in EgyptAir Flight 804 crash probe. (2016, June 27). CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/egyptair-flight-804-paris-prosecutor-manslaughter-no-evidence-terrorism/
Sirgany, S., Abdelaziz, S., & Par, M. (2016, May 26). Report: Signals detected from EgyptAir Flight 804 in Mediterranean. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/26/middleeast/egyptair-airbus-signals-detected/
Word "fire" heard on cockpit voice recorder from crashed EgyptAir 804. (2016, July 16). The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/17/word-fire-heard-on-cockpit-voice-recorder-from-crashed-egyptair-804
Youssef, N., & Stack, L. (2016, July 22). EgyptAir Flight 804 broke up in midair after a fire, evidence suggests. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/world/middleeast/egyptair-804-crash-fire.html