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An EgyptAir Jet Has Disappeared From Radar

by Jenny Hollander

On Wednesday evening, an EgyptAir flight traveling from Paris to Cairo, MS 804, disappeared from radar. There are 69 people on board the flight. It went missing at 8.45 p.m. ET, over the Mediterranean Sea, according to information on FlightRadar24.com. A couple of hours later, EgyptAir tweeted that it had lost contact with the plane, effectively rendering it missing. It disappeared ten minutes before entering Egyptian airspace, according to a statement from EgyptAir. It went missing at 37,000 feet. Update: On Thursday morning, Egyptian aviation officials confirmed with the Associated Press that the EgyptAir plane has crashed. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity with AP, said the "possibility that the plane crashed has been confirmed," since flight MS804 never arrived at any of the airports. The officials told AP they will now be searching for debris from the plane.

"An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804,which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST),heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar," the airline tweeted. "EGYPTAIR media centre will update as more information becomes available."

The plane is reportedly an Airbus A320-232. There are 59 passengers and 10 crew members aboard the flight.

"EGYPTAIR A320 was at a height of 37.000ft, and disappeared after entering the Egyptian airspace with 10 miles," EgyptAir tweeted a few minutes later. "EGYPTAIR has contacted the concerned authorities and bodies and inspection is underway through the rescue teams."

Back in March, EgyptAir found itself in the news when it was hijacked en route to Cairo from Alexandria and diverted to Cyprus. All passengers landed safely, and the hijacker surrounded peacefully to authorities.

A search is underway to find out what happened to the plane, according to a statement from the airline.