Mystery Deepens Over 2016 Mediterranean Plane Crash
On May 19, 2016, a passenger jet vanished over the Mediterranean between Crete and northern Egypt. All 66 souls aboard perished. The wreckage was found only after a month-long search.
Initial Bomb Claims Sparked Security Probe
Egyptian investigators initially reported traces of explosives on the victims. Cairo’s prosecutor general launched a state security investigation, but the results were never made public, leaving many questions unanswered.
Smoking Cockpit Sparks Fatal Fire, French Report Claims
A confidential 134-page French report now blames the disaster on the pilots’ cigarette smoking. According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the co-pilot’s oxygen mask was mistakenly set to “emergency” rather than “normal” mode by maintenance staff.
This error caused oxygen to combust when exposed to a cigarette, sparking a cockpit fire. The plane’s smoke detection system sent urgent alerts just before the crash.
Black Box Reveals Malfunctions, Silence from Pilots
- The ACARS system fired seven rapid messages warning of computer glitches crucial for flying.
- Neither pilot Mohammed Saied Ali Shokair nor co-pilot Mohammed Ahmed Mamdouh Assem requested help.
At the time, terror attacks in Paris and Brussels had heightened security fears. Egyptian authorities withheld the official crash report, violating international rules requiring public release within a year.
Families Still Waiting for Answers Six Years On
French investigators analysed the black box but face legal blocks that prevent them from sharing full results, despite 15 French citizens among the victims.
French aviation safety agency BEA stated in 2018 that a fast-spreading cockpit fire is the “most likely hypothesis.” They stressed the need for Egypt to release the final report to resolve disagreements.
“Six years later, we are still caught between wanting to know the truth and the feeling of exhaustion because things are not progressing as they should,” said Julie Heslouin, who lost both her brother and father in the crash. “We want to know why we lost our loved ones, and we don’t know that till this day.”
