The EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea with 66 people on board went into a sudden spin and plunged 22,000ft before vanishing off the radar, a Greek minister revealed today.
Flight MS804 came down near the Greek island of Karpathos ten miles into Egyptian airspace at around 00.30am GMT without making a distress call.
Greek defence minister Panos Kammenos said the Airbus A320 made 'sudden swerves' mid-air, lurching 90 degrees to the left then 360 degrees to the right as it fell out of the sky.
The revelation came after a former air accident chief said all the evidence pointed to the plane being targeted in a terrorist attack.
The Airbus A320 left the French capital's Charles De Gaulle Airport at 9.09pm GMT last night before coming down off the Greek island of Karpathos ten miles into Egyptian airspace at around 00.30am GMT. Officials said there was no distress call.
The 56 passengers on board included one Briton, 30 Egyptians, 15 French, one Belgian, one Iraqi, one Kuwaiti, one Saudi Arabian, one Chadian, one Portuguese, one Algerian and one Canadian. There were 10 crew on flight MS804 including three security guards.
Jean-Paul Troadec, the former chief of the BEA national investigation unit, said the lack of a live emergency alert suggested a 'brutal event'.
Vanished: EgyptAir flight MS804 heading from Paris to Cairo is believed to have crashed into the sea after disappearing from radar. There were 66 people on board the Airbus A320 (pictured) that vanished 40 minutes before it was set to land in Egypt early Thursday morning
Relatives of passengers on the missing EgyptAir flight break down as they console each other at Cairo International Airport in Egypt
A woman holds her head in her hand as she waits for more news outside the Egyptair in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport
A radar map shows the plane's path travelling from Paris and then stopping in the Mediterranean Sea before reaching Cairo, where it lost contact with air traffic control Grief: Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengers comfort each other in front of the airliner's office at Cairo International Airport
Shock: A woman reacts as she waits outside the Egyptair in-flight service building where relatives and friends of passengers who were
flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished from radar en route from Paris to Cairo are being held,at Cairo International Airport
Hunt for MS804: Several vessels are seen on radar joining the search for the doomed Airbus A320 in the Mediterranean
Hunt for MS804: Several vessels are seen on radar joining the search for the doomed Airbus A320 in the Mediterranean
HIJACKINGS, PILOT 'SUICIDES' AND MOUNTAIN CRASHES: EGYPTAIR'S LONG
HISTORY OF AVIATION DISASTERS
March 19, 1972: Flight 763 Cairo to Aden
The EgyptAir plane crashed into the Shamsan Mountains on approach to Aden International Airport, killing all 30 people on board.
August 23, 1976: Flight 321 Cairo to Luxor
Three armed terrorists hijacked the flight with 95 passengers and six crew on board as it neared Luxor airport in southern Egypt.
The men, claiming to be from the Abd Al-Nasir movement, demanded to be flown to Tripoli in Libya but the Boeing 737 landed at Luxor after they were told it needed to refuel.
Once there, the hijackers demanded the release of five Libyan prisoners from a Cairo jail who had been detained for plotting assassination attempts on dissident Libyan and Yemeni political leaders.
But army officers successfully stormed the plane and the hijackers were arrested. No-one was harmed in the incident.
December 25, 1976: Flight 864 Cairo to Bangkok
The Boeing 707 flying from Cairo to Don Mueang International Airport crashed in an industrial complex in Bangkok, killing all 52 people on board and 19 on the ground. Pilot error was blamed for the crash.
October 17, 1982: Flight 771 Cairo to Geneva
On approaching Geneva, the plane, carrying 182 people, landed 50m before the runway and bounced before sliding off the left side.
It turned 270 degrees and continued to slide backwards before coming to a rest with its right wing ripped off. No-one was killed.
November 23, 1985: Flight 648 Athens to Cairo
Three Palestinian members of terrorist organisation Abu Nidal hijacked the Boeing 737 with 89 passengers and six crew shortly after its 8pm takeoff from Athens.
A security guard on the plane shot and killed one of the terrorists before he was killed and two flight attendants were wounded.
The hijackers demanded to be flown to Libya but the plane had to land at Malta to refuel.
The two wounded crew members and 11 passengers were released at Malta airport.
However, the hijackers threatened to kill a passenger every 10 minutes when Maltese authorities refused to refuel the plane unless everyone on board was released.
A stand-off commenced and two U.S. passengers were executed. Egyptian forces eventually stormed the plane and 56 more passengers were killed, leading to a total of 60 dead, including two hijackers. Thirty eight people survived, including one hijacker.
October 22, 1993: Flight 767 Cairo to Sana'a
A man carrying a knife hijacked the plane and demanded to be taken to Aden in Yemen. He was arrested after the plane landed in Sana'a, Yemen.
March 27, 1996: Flight 104 Luxor to Cairo
An Egyptian man and his teenage son hijacked the Airbus A320 shortly after it departed from Luxor in southern Egypt.
They claimed to have explosives and wanted to meet Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to deliver him a 'message from God'. The plane was diverted and landed at Derna-Martuba in Libya where the hijackers surrendered to authorities.
October 19, 1999: Flight 838 Istanbul to Cairo
A male passenger threatened the crew with a knife and demanded that the Boeing 737 be diverted to London or Germany.
The hijacker was successful, with the plane landing at Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport. However once there, all passengers were released and German police arrested the hijacker.
October 31, 1999: Flight 990 Los Angeles to Cairo
A Boeing 767 carrying 217 on board crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about 100km south of Natucket Island, Massachusetts. The official probable cause of the crash was suicide by the co-pilot.
May 11, 2000: Flight 233 Cairo to Aswan
A male passenger on the Airbus A321 claimed a jar of hair gel was a bomb and told the chief flight attendant that he wanted to go to Afghanistan to find work.
He then tried to storm the cockpit but was overpowered by crew members before gaining entry. The plane, with 19 passengers on board, landed safely in Aswan in southern Egypt. The offender was charged with air piracy and threatening the lives of passengers.
May 7, 2002: Flight 843 Cairo to Tunis
The Boeing 737 with 62 people on board crashed into a hill near the Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunisia during poor weather conditions.
Eleven passengers and three crew members died. The investigation found the minimum safe altitude warning device at the airport did not cover the relevant runway.
Oct 21, 2009: Flight 738 Istanbul to Cairo
A Sudanese passenger on the Boeing 737 was armed with a knife and held-up a flight attendant minutes after take-off. He demanded the flight be diverted to Jerusalem so that he could 'liberate it'. The man, who was intoxicated, was overpowered by two air marshals.
July 29, 2011: Flight 667 Cairo to Saudi Arabia
The Boeing 777 with 317 people on board had a fire in the cockpit while still on the ground at Cairo Airport. Seven people were injured, no-one was killed. The plane was written off.
March 29, 2016: Flight 181 Alexandria to Cairo
Egyptian man Seif Eldin Mustafa hijacked the Airbus A320 after it left Alexandria in northern Egypt and forced it to divert to Larnaca Airport in Cyprus.
Once landed, Mustafa - who was wearing a fake suicide belt - took several passengers and crew hostage and demanded to see his Cypriot ex-wife.
However shortly after, he released most passengers and crew before surrendering about seven hours later.