EgyptAir Flight 804
aircraft that crashed into Mediterranean sea on 19 May 2016
EgyptAir Flight 804 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Cairo International Airport, operated by EgyptAir. On 19 May 2016 at 02:33 Egypt Standard Time (UTC+2), the Airbus A320 crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, killing all 66 occupants on board.
No mayday call was received by air traffic control, although signals that smoke had been detected in one of the aircraft's lavatories and in the avionics bay were automatically transmitted via ACARS shortly before the aircraft disappeared from radar. The last communications from the aircraft prior to its submersion were two transmissions from its emergency locator transmitter that were received by the International Cospas-Sarsat Programme. Debris from the aircraft was found in the Mediterranean Sea approximately 290 km (180 mi) north of Alexandria. Nearly four weeks after the crash, several main sections of wreckage were identified on the seabed, and both flight recorders were recovered in a multinational search and recovery operation. On 29 June, Egyptian officials announced that the flight data recorder data indicated smoke in the aircraft, and that soot plus damage from high temperatures was found on some of the wreckage from the front section of the aircraft.
On 30 October 2024, two reports were released with conflicting conclusions about the cause of the crash. Egypt's Civil Aviation Authority, which headed the investigation, concluded that the crash was the result of an explosion occurring in the galley near the cockpit, which was rapidly engulfed by smoke and fire, exacerbated by oxygen flow being present. The French investigative agency BEA disagreed with this conclusion, instead finding that the fire was most likely a result of a fault in the oxygen mask.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “EgyptAir Flight 804” is aircraft that crashed into Mediterranean sea on 19 May 2016. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through EgyptAir, Flight and aircraft, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “aircraft that crashed into Mediterranean sea on 19 May 2016” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q24091473. Authority coordinates are 33.676, 28.792. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2016 and 2024.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “EgyptAir Flight 804”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow EgyptAir Flight 804 primary sources, EgyptAir Flight 804 archive and EgyptAir research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “EgyptAir Flight 804”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “EgyptAir Flight 804” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.