EgyptAir A320

[Content Note: Airline disaster]

EgyptAir jet missing:
An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean sea on Thursday after swerving in mid-air and plunging from cruising height. French President Francois Hollande confirmed the aircraft "came down and is lost".

Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail announced a search was under way for the missing Airbus A320 but it was too early to rule out any explanation, including an attack like the one blamed for bringing down a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai peninsula last year.

Officials with the airline and the Egyptian civil aviation department told Reuters they believed the Airbus had crashed into the Mediterranean between Greece and Egypt.

In Athens, Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus had first swerved 90 degrees to the left, then spun through 360 degrees to the right. After plunging from 37,000 feet to 15,000, it vanished from Greek radar screens.

Greece deployed aircraft and a frigate to the area to help with the search.

...In Paris, Hollande also said the cause remained unknown. "Unfortunately the information we have ... confirms to us that the plane came down and is lost," he said. "No hypothesis can be ruled out, nor can any be favored over another."
The Guardian has live updates as new information becomes available.

My sincerest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of the people lost in the crash.

As always, let's keep this an image-free thread, if and when images of the crash and/or grieving survivors are published.

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