EgyptAir flight MS804: Investigators probe whether 'bomb' was smuggled on plane at previous airport

Flight MS804 plunged 38,000ft into the Mediterranean after being downed by a terrorist attack, ­aviation experts feared last night.

All 66 passengers and crew died when the EgyptAir Airbus A320 fell out of the sky during its doomed trip from Paris to Cairo. There was no distress call before the jet vanished off the radar while flying in clear weather.

British geologist Richard Osman, 40, from Tanerdy, Carmarthenshire – who had just recently had a second child – was believed to be among the dead.

Egyptian officials said Flight MS804 made a sudden swerve to the left then to the right before diving into the sea near the Greek island of Karpathos.

One aviation analysts claimed the sharp movements could indicate there was a struggle in the cockpit before the pilot lost control at 12.30am yesterday.


But others feared the jet could have been brought down by a timer bomb planted before it arrived in Paris – similar to the one the blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1998.

As focus shifted towards al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as the main suspects behind the tragedy, former UK air accident investigator Phil Giles said: “It’s a real mystery.



“But it sounds like 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.

“We may see a focus on the airside staff there in the coming days.”


The route taken by the doomed flight
Aviation expert Jean-Paul Troadec added: “There’s a strong possibility of an explosion on board from a bomb or a suicide bomber.”

But aviation analyst Paul Charles said the plane’s sudden ­movements before crashing point to an on board struggle. He added: “It wasn’t ­necessarily a device on board. It would suggest the pilot has been involved in some sort of an ­incident in the cockpit.”


Relatives wait for news at Cairo airport

The tragedy came just days after Islamic State ­terrorists, who were behind last year’s Paris massacre, issued a fresh attack warning to France.

The group had claimed ­responsibility for bringing down a Russian Metrojet flight 9268 that crashed in Egypt’s Sinai ­peninsula in October, killing all 224 on board.