Given that EgyptAir flight, traveling from Paris to Cairo, that went missing in the early hours of May, is yet to be found (although some debris may have been spotted in the Mediterranean) and an thorough investigation yet to be done, one can only speculate about its disappearance – and more specifically, if this was an act of terrorism. In the post-9/11 era, this is a concern that can hardly be considered alarmist at this stage, especially given recent geo-political developments in both Egypt and France.
But first let’s take a look at what we already know about the airliner: The Airbus A320 did not make any distress calls or signal any trouble; it did not face bad weather; and it disappeared just before entering Egyptian airspace. Experts say that it is extremely unlikely that a technical failure occurred in the skies – it is much more likely for such problems to happen while takeoff or landing – but, of course, it cannot be ruled out.
It is also possible that the aircraft was hit by a missile but again such a development would have been captured by the satellites monitoring the region. Also, while there are militant groups in Egypt, particularly in the Sinai, they are not believed to have missiles capabilities. The third option is that the aircraft was bombed from within, like Metrojet Flight 9268 that had departed from the Egyptian resort town of Sharm-el-Sheikh, was taken down in October last year.
This would mean a security breach at the Charles de Gaulle Airport which, again, is hard to accept (but not impossible) given that France and Brussels have been on high alert since the recent terror attacks. Also, one cannot rule out insider assistance in the crash -- as was the case with Metrojet Flight 9268 wherein a cargo handler was involved, or with the March 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525 crash wherein the pilot caused the crash.