EgyptAir flight MS804 crash: Wreckage belonging to missing Airbus 320 found, Egyptian officials say

EgyptAir said Greek authorities have found floating materials likely to be wreckage, life jackets and plastic materials

The EgyptAir plane, registration SU-GCC, that disappeared on 19 May on the tarmac at Cairo airport in 2014 (AP)

Floating wreckage belonging to the missing EgyptAir plane has been found, officials have said.

EgyptAir tweeted to say Greek authorities near the island of Karpathios have found floating materials likely to be wreckage, life jackets and plastic materials.

Egypt's Civil Aviation ministry said it is working with its Greek counterparts to examine what has been found.

The Egyptian envoy to France has also said Greek authorities informed the Egyptian embassy in Athens blue and white debris has been found.

"All I will say is that our embassy in Athens told us that it was contacted by Greek authorities who signalled that they found white and blue debris corresponding to EgyptAir's colours," Ehab Badawy told BFM television.

"I can't confirm it is the debris, but it would be reasonable to think it is the debris of this plane," he said.

In a statement posted on Facebook in English, EgyptAir said:

"EGYPTAIR resource stated that the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation has just received an official letter from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that confirms the finding of wreckage of the missing aircraft No. MS 804 near Karpathos Island.

"EGYPTAIR sincerely conveys its deepest sorrow to the families and friends of the passengers onboard Flight MS804.

"Family members of passengers and crew have been already informed and we extend our deepest sympathies to those affected.

It added: "Meanwhile, the Egyptian Investigation Team in co-operation with the Greek counterpart are still searching for other remains of the missing plane."

Earlier, the vice president of EgyptAir told CNN "we have found the wreckage" of the downed flight from Paris to Cairo.

Ahmed Adel also said no distress signal was sent from flight MS804 before it disappeared.

However, a senior Greek air safety official has said the debris does not belong to an aircraft.

Athanassios Binis, head of Greece's Air Accident Investigation and Aviation Safety Board, said "an assessment of the finds showed that they do not belong to an aircraft".

EgyptAir flight MS804 went down about halfway between the Greek island of Crete and Egypt's northern coastline, authorities said.

All 66 passengers and crew of a Paris to Cairo EgyptAir flight were feared dead last night after the aircraft spiralled off course and plunged into the eastern Mediterranean.

The cause of the disaster to EgyptAir Flight 804 was not immediately clear. An Egyptian minister suggested that a terrorist attack – either a bombing or a failed hijacking – was the most likely explanation.

The flight path of EgyptAir flight MS804 from Paris to Cairo is seen on a flight tracking screen (Reuters)

Aviation experts suggested that the behaviour of the plane – veering to the left and then cork-screwing downwards to the right – was not consistent with a mid-air explosion.

A merchant ship captain reported, however, that he had seen “flame in the sky” close to the last known location of the aircraft, near the Greek island of Karpathos between Rhodes and Cyprus, in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The French president, François Hollande, said all explanations, including an act of terrorism, were under investigation. “When we have the truth we will need to draw all the conclusions,” he said. “At this stage, we must give priority to solidarity towards the families (of the victims).”

Aviation and security experts have suggested the crash may have been caused by an explosive device.

The Egyptian minister for civil aviation, Sherif Fathi, told a press conference in Cairo that the terrorism was a “more likely” cause for the disaster than mechanical failure or pilot error.

Police take up position at terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, after an Egyptair flight disappeared from radar during its flight from Paris to Cairo (Reuters)

If the plane was destroyed by an act of terrorism, French authorities will face awkward questions about security at Charles de Gaulle airport six months after the jihadist attacks in Paris which killed 130 people.

Flights to and from Egypt are known to be a target for jihadist attack. A Russian-operated Airbus A321 was destroyed by by a bomb soon after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh airpott last October killing all 224 people on board.

An internal EgyptAir flight was hijacked to Cyprus in March this year but no one was harmed.