What happened to Flight MS804? Experts baffled as to what sent EgyptAir jet into mysterious ‘37,000ft death spiral’
Experts raise fears jet was brought down by a 'Lockerbie-style' timed bomb as debris found by search teams
THE mystery of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 continues to deepen as experts struggle to explain how the doomed jet came down.
The Egyptian military announced on Friday morning that it had found debris and personal belongings in the Med believed to be from the doomed flight that crashed in the early hours of Thursday.
And US intelligence chiefs at the Pentagon entered the fray last night to declare they could find no evidence of an explosion on board the plane, which was carrying 66 passengers including Briton Richard Osman.
French investigators arrived in Cairo last night as search teams – including one from the UK – continued to scour the Mediterranean near the Greek island of Karpathos where life jackets were spotted.
The Egyptian military this morning reported that debris from the missing jet including passengers' belongings had been discovered 180 miles north of Alexandria.
Details of those who perished in the crash have now started to emerge.
Samar Ezz Eldin, an air stewardess and modern languages graduate, was named by investigators.
In a chilling twist the 27-year-old had coincidentally posted an image of an air stewardess walking through ankle-deep water as a plane plunges into the sea behind her barely two years ago.
Tragically the plane's captain, Mohamed Shoukair, 37, from Giza, had only days earlier celebrated his promotion to the rank of senior pilot.
Co-pilot Mohammad Mamdouh Assem fulfilled a boyhood dream to become a pilot and was helped to achieve his ambition with the help of his mother who invested all of her life savings into his training.
The plane's cabin manager Mervat Zakaria had worked for the airline for 30 years after starring in Egyptian soap opera Abu El Ela El-Bashery.
Allegations of a plot by extremists to recruit staff at French airports also emerged on Friday.
The lawyer who represented 70 airport staff who had their security passes revoked following the Paris terror attacks in November made the claim on the BBC's Today programme.
Eric Moucay told the BBC Today programme: “There is effectively recruitment going at the airports, that’s clear. There are people who are being radicalised in some of the trade unions. The authorities have their work cut out with this problem.”
The flight from Paris was about to start its descent into Cairo from 37,000ft when it made “sudden swerves”.
A life-or-death struggle between hijackers and the crew as the plane plummeted from the sky was emerging last night as the most likely cause.
Flight data yesterday appeared to suggest the plane entered a corkscrew descent as it plummeted 20,000ft from its cruising altitude of 37,000ft before falling into the sea.
Attention also turned to the plane's journeys that day.
It was revealed how the jet had started its first of five flights in the troubled state of Eritrea.
Airport security in the East African nation that borders Somalia is described as a "joke" by UK intelligence sources.
From Eritrea it had returned to Cairo before heading to the capital of Tunisia, Tunis, on to Cairo once more, and then to Paris' Charles de Gaulle.
The plane disappeared from radar on its way back from the French capital.
A leading British aviation chief today suggested the incident could have been an 'inside job'.
Mike Vivian, who is the former head of flight operations for the Civil Aviation Authority, said: "It is a worry that has been in security minds for a long time now.
"It is a major worry and I do not think it is insignificant that lots of people at Paris Charles de Gaulle lost their airside pass because of radicalisation.
"The question has to be how did they get their in the first place and what sort of screening is going on vis-a-vis these airport employees."
Another theory emerging is that the plane could have been brought down by a timed-explosive device, similar to one used in the Lockerbie crash in 1988.
Phil Giles, a former investigator with the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch, said: “It’s a real mystery, but it sounds at this early stage that there could have been a device, placed on the plane earlier at another airport in some kind of Lockerbie situation.
“It may have been placed on board at Paris, though security is very tight there already. We may see a focus on the air-side staff there in the coming days.”
The Airbus A320’s black box flight recorder now holds the key to revealing what happened early yesterday.
Technical faults have not been ruled out but an IS terrorist bomb smuggled on board is high on the list of theories.
One of the victims feared dead in the crash was yesterday named as British father-of-two Richard Osman.
The Jersey-based geologist had only weeks ago welcomed his second daughter into the world and was described as being "deliriously happy" at the news.
Richard had been on his way to start a job in the Egyptian capital and was described as "kind and loving" by his brother Alastair in an interview with last night.
The University of Swansea PhD student said: "Aureilie [Richard's wife] had warned him to be careful but he took the view that it's never going to happen to you. He just laughed it off.
"We kept in touch regularly and I would speak to him a couple times a month but he never mentioned the possible threat of terrorism on his flights across the Mediterranean to me.
"But the family was worried because Isis and groups like them don't think that any of their victims have family members or a past or a history of hopes and dreams.
"My sister Anna mentioned the dangers to me
"Richard was such a fit and busy person who was always on the go that I can't believe he has gone."
Distraught families of passengers and crew were ushered into a private area at Cairo Airport as news broke.
Some said they were being kept in the dark over what had happened.
It was announced that 30 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis and individuals from Canada, Belgium, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Chad and Portugal.
Ayman Nassar, a relative of one of the passengers, said: “They told us the plane had disappeared and that they’re still searching for it and not to believe any rumours.”
Another man wept with his hands on his face and said: “How long will Egypt live if human lives are so cheap?”
Anyone concerned can call 0800 7777 0000 from any landline in Egypt and +202 259 89320 from any mobile phone or from outside Egypt.
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