A passenger plane that crashed and killed all those sitting on the deck, was shot down over the pilot’s fault because he had a cigarette in the cockpit, it was revealed after an investigation. The Egyptians initially announced that it was a terrorist attack, but withdrew
A pilot who smoked a cigarette aboard a flight of the Egyptian company Air804 MS804 caused an oxygen leak from an emergency mask and caused a fire. 66 passengers and crew died when the plane flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris – France to Cairo – Egypt in May 2016, crashed in the Mediterranean Sea south of the Greek island of Crete under mysterious circumstances. The plane made dangerous movements in the air before it crashed.
Among those killed were one Briton, 12 French tourists, 30 Egyptians, two Iraqis and one Canadian and crew. The New York Post reports that following a major search mission involving the U.S. Navy, the plane’s black box was found in deep water near Greece. The Egyptian authorities then claimed that the plane had been shot down in a terrorist attack, even though no group had claimed responsibility.
It was further alleged at the time that explosives had been found on the bodies of the victims of the plane crash, although this was later denied. However, an official investigation concluded that smoke from the pilot’s cigarette accidentally ignited oxygen that had leaked from an emergency mask. Egyptian pilots often smoked in the cockpit, smoking was not banned at the time of the 2016 crash, an experienced pilot said that the captain of the plane, Muhammad Said Ali Shuker, had to identify the damaged mask before takeoff.
“When we enter the cabin, among the various tests we perform before take-off is to check the oxygen flow in the masks,” Italian pilot Daniela Veronelli told the Italian Courier della Sera newspaper. He added: “If the switch is in the normal position, the oxygen flow is on request. If it is in an emergency, it will release oxygen at a greater pressure to destroy the smoke that may be in the passenger compartment if there is a fire on the deck.”