A BRITON is among the 66 people on board the missing EgyptAir flight MS804 which is said to have crashed off the coast of Greece.
MISSING AND FEARED CRASHED: An EgyptAir passenger plane
Unconfirmed reports from a Greek airport source say EgyptAir flight MS804 went down off the Greek Island of Karpathos, but in Egyptian airspace.
It vanished while en route from Paris to Cairo while carrying 56 passengers and 10 crew, including one Briton.
An emergency distress signal is believed to have been sent from the aircraft two hours after it disappeared from radar.
But the Egyptian military is denying it received any distress signal at all.
CRASH SITE: This is the suspected crash site off the Greek island of Karpathos
A statement has been released in the last few minutes by Airbus, a France-based aircraft manufacturing company.
It confirmed the plane involved was delivered to Egyptair from the production line in November 2003 and to date, accumulated approximately 48,000 flight hours.
The company said it will be providing full assistance to the French Aviation Agency and to any authrity in charge of the investigation.
It added: "To date, the entire fleet has accumulated nearly 180 million flight hours in over 98 million flights.
"Airbus regrets to confirm the loss of an Egyptair A320, flight #MS804. Our concerns go to all those affected.
"Airbus will make further factual information available as soon as the details have been confirmed and cleared by the authorities for release."
The aircraft, believed to be an Airbus A320, took off from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport late on Wednesday night.
It was due to arrive at Cairo International Airport early on Thursday morning.
But it disappeared off radar at 37,000ft around 80 miles before it was due to enter Egyptian airspace.
The full list of passengers is:
- 30 Egyptian
- 15 French
- 2 Iraqi
- 1 British
- 1 Belgian
- 1 Sudanese
- 1 Chadian
- 1 Portuguese
- 1 Algerian
MAP: A map shows where EgyptAir Flight MS804 disappeared
Two babies and one other child were among the passengers.
Two cockpit crew, five cabin crew and three security personnel were also on board.
According to flightradar24.com, the plane's last known position was above the Mediterranean sea.
A huge search operation is now underway, with more and more vessels joining the search off the Greek coast.
Search and rescue teams - including specialist teams and the Egyptian armed forces - have been deployed.
Ahmed Abdel, vice-chairman of EgyptAir's holding company, earlier said a search is ongoing.
He said that search teams were informed the coordinates of where the aircraft lost contact and a rescue plane has arrived at that area.
This is between Athens and Egypt - about 30 to 40 miles north of the Egyptian coast.
VANISHED: A close-up shows the flight's last known position
Greece has also joined the search and rescue operation.
Two aircraft - one C-130 and one early warning aircraft - have been dispatched.
They said one frigate was also heading to the area, and helicopters are on standby on the southern island of Karpathos for potential rescue or recovery operations.
Ihab Raslan, a spokesman for the Egyptian civil aviation agency, said the Airbus A320 most likely crashed into the sea.
He also said the plane was about to enter Egyptian airspace when it disappeared from radar.
This contradicts the airline - which said the plane was 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace.
Last radio contact with the airliner was just 10 minutes before it disappeared - and the plane was just 20 minutes from its scheduled landing time.
After 8am, famlies started arriving at a crisis centre set up at Cairo airport.
Families of the French passengers on board have gone to Charles De Gaulle Airport in the hopes of recveiving more information.
EgyptAir said the captain has 6,275 flying hours - including 2,101 on the A320.
The copilot has 2,766 flying hours.
The plane was manufactured in 2003.
FAMILIES: Relatives of those on board have begun arriving in droves
ARRIVING: A crisis centre has been set up for families to receive updates on the search
FRANCE: Media and families have assembled at Charles de Gaulle airport for updates
The disappearance will inevitably raise fears of terrorism.
Russian passenger plane Metrojet Flight 9268 went missing over Sinai, in Egypt, last October.
It turned out it was blown up by Egyptian Islamic exremists linked to ISIS.
Interestingly, an EgyptAir mechanic - whose cousin joined Islamic State in Syria, is suspected of planting the bomb.
In March, an EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus by a man with what authorities said was a fake suicide belt.
He was arrested after giving himself up.
France’s aviation authority could not immediately be reached for comment.
CRASHED: Egyptian authorities are saying the plane did crash
According to sources, the pilots spoke to Greek air traffic controllers as it passed over the country and did not report any problems.
It reportedly disppeared from radar two minutes after entering Greek airspace.
But the head of the country's civil aviation, Kostas Litzerakis, said: "The pilot did not mention any problems."
France will also send search teams – thought to be planes – to assist in what is expected to be a massive operation.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that at this stage "no theory can be ruled out".
Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismael arrived at the crisis centre early on Thursday morning.
Authorities are pleading for people not to speculate on what happened to the plane without it being confirmed it has crashed.
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