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Air Arabia Egypt Plane Diverts to Cairo due to Engine Issues

Air ArabiaAir Arabia Egypt flight E5-337 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Cairo, Egypt, on June 29th.

The Airbus A320-200, heading from Borg El Arab Airport, Alexandria Governorate, Egypt, to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was diverted due to problems with an engine.

The plane landed uneventfully. There were 120 people aboard at the time; all of them remained safe.

The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.

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Pinging for Egyptair MS 804 as the Clock Runs Out

When a plane goes down in the ocean, the black boxes aboard have enough juice to ping for thirty days. The pingers on flight data recorders AKA “black boxes” last a minimum of 30 days. After 30 days, the devices are still active, but the sound on which searchers hone is expected to die out. The pinger is located by a “pinger locater,” a device that listens for the sound of the black box. It is towed within the search area but it’s listening radius is usually around 2 miles. The pinger’s sound is not very powerful, and the pinger is towed at 3 knots.
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After AirFrance 447, legislation was underway to increase the battery life to 90 days. The technology exists, but because implementation of that transition has been slow, EgyptAir MS 804’s pinger battery is expected to expire at around 30 days.

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EgyptAir: 3 Alerts Before the Plane Left Radar. Fire on board.

Several different alerts on this plane went off immediately prior to the plane disappearing from the radar, including 1) issues with the windows on the co-pilot’s side of the plane; 2) two smoke alerts, the first one “SMOKE LAVATORY SMOKE” at 00:26 a.m. local time; 3) the second one “AVIONICS SMOKE” at 00:27 a.m. The second alert refers smoke in the avionics bay, which is located below the cockpit, and is where the electronics are housed.

This is also the same plane that was vandalised two years ago at Cairo Airport. In Arabic someone, presumably Cairo Airport workers, wrote on its belly, “We will bring this plane down.”

It is a special concern that the plane had flown to Eritrea.

The US State Department has a standing travel warning for Eritrea, and is quoted as saying “security at the Asmara airport ‘can be unpredictable,’ and had a ‘lack of efficiency and consistency” in screening passengers.'”

The search for Egyptair is still underway.

On the search for Egyptair Flight MS804

According to AV:

“on 2016/06/01, Egypt’s Civil Aviation Authority reported “Laplace” located pings presumably from one of MS804’s black boxes. The vessel “John Lethbridge” of DOS will be joining the search team to retrieve the black boxes. The BEA (FR)confirmed that Egyptian Authorities have confirmed a “signal that may come from one of the recorders” of flight MS-804. The BEA did NOT confirm that a black box has been located.”

Debris has been found.

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EgyptAir Flight #MS804 Located off Karpathos Island

Before the wreckage was located off Greece’s Karpathos Island, search and rescue services picked up the ELT signal around 8:25, four hours after dawn. Greece reported two red and white plastic objects floating in the sea, and two orange objects, apparently life vests. Civilian ships are heading into the area to assist. France is assisting the search, with ships and aircraft. Several bodies were found floating in the area, according to RT.

The EgyptAir A320 disappeared May 18 over the Mediterranean.

When planes cross from one country’s airspace into another, the Air Traffic Control transition at those points is called the ‘hand-off.’ The crew was engaging with Greek ATC but when they attempted to hand the aircraft off to Egypt ATC, the crew made no response.

EgyptAir released that the crew was comprised of the captain, first officer, five cabin crew and three sky marshals. The passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French, 2 Iraqis, 1 British, 1 Belgian, 1 Kuwaiti, 1 Saudi, 1 Sudanese, 1 Chadian, 1 Portugese, 1 Algerian and 1 Canadian. The 56 passengers included three children.

Journalists have been barred by Airport security from the area in the Cairo airport where family and friends of the passengers are waiting.

EgyptAir Statement on MS804

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Egypt Air Plane Makes Safe Landing in Israel after Communication Loss

EgyptAirEgypt Air flight 4D-54 had to be intercepted before it made a safe landing at Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 23rd.

The Embraer ERJ-170 was en-route from Cairo, Egypt, when upon entering Israeli Airspace, it lost communication due to a radio failure, prompting Israeli Authorities to intercept the plane.

The plane landed safely after gaining its frequency back.

All passengers onboard remained unharmed.

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Saudi Arabian Airlines Plane Diverts to Cairo Due to Loss of Cabin Pressure

Saudi Arabian AirlinesSaudi Arabian Airlines flight SV-366 had to divert and make an emergency landing in Cairo, Egypt, on April 12th.

The Airbus A330-300, en-route from Tunis, Tunisia, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was diverted after it lost cabin pressure.

The plane landed uneventfully. All 295 people aboard remained safe.

The airline arranged a replacement plane for the passengers.

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British Airways Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Egypt after Passenger Falls Sick

British airwaysBritish Airways plane had to divert and make emergency landing at Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt, on April 14th.

The aircraft en-route from Hurgahada, Egypt to London, UK, had to return shortly afterwards after a female passenger onboard fell sick.

The plane landed uneventfully.

The passenger was given medical assistance, and the plane resumed its flight.

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Bird-Hit Egyptair Plane Makes Emergency Landing at Heathrow Airport

EgyptAirEgyptair flight MS-779 had to make an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport in London, United Kingdom, on March 11th.

The Boeing 737-800 plane was on approach to the airport when a bird penetrated its nose, prompting the crew to declare an emergency. The plane was flying from Cairo, Egypt, at the time.

The plane landed uneventfully. There were 71 passengers aboard at the time; all of the remained safe.

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Egyptian Government Hires International Firm to Audit Airport Security

In the wake of Metrojet flight 9268 crash, the Egyptian government has hired a London-based consultancy firm for auditing its airport security.

The firm ‘Control Risks’ will start by inspecting the airports in Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh.

According to Egypt’s Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal, “All Egyptian airports apply international standards in airport security… The air transport industry globally is facing several challenges… Airport security has risen to the top of these challenges, especially with the upsurge of terrorism in different parts of the world.”

Control Risks’ chief executive for Middle East and North Africa Andreas Carleton-Smith said, “There will be a comprehensive assessment, and this supports extensive work already undertaken in recent months by Egyptian and international government experts…We will be starting work directly to take forward this critical initiative.”

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Saudi Cargo Jet Diverts to Cairo International Airport

A Saudi cargo plane had to divert and make an emergency landing at Cairo International Airport, Egypt, on December 3.

The plane was heading from Italy to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, when the pilot noticed that the fuel level is alarmingly low and decided to divert.

The plane landed safely.

Authorities said the plane was able to resume its journey after refuelling.

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EgyptAir Passenger jet with Cracked Windshield Landed Safely

EgyptAirThe windshield of the EgyptAir Airbus A320-200, registration SU-GBC, cracked midair due to hail storm on September 8.

The flight MS-859, heading from Cairo, Egypt to Juba, South Sudan, continued its journey and landed safely at its scheduled destination.

None of the 76 passengers aboard were injured, however, the aircraft’s nose cone sustained some damage.