On May 19, 2016, Egyptair Flight 804 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea unexpectedly. The crash killed all 66 people onboard including the pilots and crew. The investigation into why the Airbus 380 suddenly crashed has been ongoing for many months. Officials stated that they were unsure if this was a terrorist attack or simply a technical failure. The investigation team recently announced that they have discovered traces of explosive materials on some of the deceased passengers' remains.
What happened to the plane?
Last spring, EgyptAir Flight 804 was flying from Paris to Cairo when it suddenly and mysteriously vanished from radar.
There was no mayday call. The radio was silent. It took several days before investigators were able to locate the crash site. Submerged under 10,000 feet of water in the Mediterranean Sea, investigators were unsure if this crash was mechanical or malicious. A voice recording from the cockpit of the Airbus 380 was recovered that suggested that the cabin was on fire at the time the plane went down. After recovering some of the remains of the passengers, traces of explosives were found on the bodies. None of the remains had been found strapped into their seats, and none of the remains were completely intact. There were 15 French citizens onboard, whose families have been pushing to claim custody of their loved ones' remains for several months.
The bodies have still not been released back to their families. The absence of large debris leads investigators to believe that the aircraft disintegrated before it crashed into the sea.
Bad Press for EgyptAir
This is not the first time this year that EgyptAir has been in the news. In March, an Egyptian fugitive by the name of Seif Eldin Mustafa hijacked EgyptAir Flight 181 flying from Alexandria to Cairo.
He forced the aircraft to divert to Cyprus before explaining his demands. The 59-year-old claimed to be wearing an explosive vest, but such was not the case. Mustafa escaped from prison in Egypt five years ago and was demanding to see his former wife, who is living in Cyprus. He was previously convicted of fraud and forgery, and escaped prison during the revolution to overthrow President Hosni Mubarak five years prior.
He is not linked with ISIS, nor the Muslim Brotherhood. He simply wanted to see his ex-wife. The situation was easily defused, and Mustafa was taken into custody and declared mentally unstable. It has no doubt been a bad year for EgyptAir. With Egypt's wavering tourism industry, the last thing this airline needs is hijacking attempts and mysterious plane crashes.
