EgyptAir Flight MS804: Phoenix Express 2016 Naval Exercises May 17 – 27

 

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EgyptAir Flight MS804: Phoenix Express 2016 Naval Exercises May 17 – 27

by Scott Creighton

EgyptAir Flight MS804 on route from Paris to Cairo, disappeared off radar over the Mediterranean Sea early this morning at a cruising altitude of 37,000. It had just passed through Greek airspace and was in Egyptian airspace for 3 minutes before it vanished from radar. Weather conditions were clear. Sixty-six people were on board. 56 passengers and 10 crew members.

The captain of a merchant vessel reported seeing something burning in the sky at that location.

“The AFP news agency reports confirmation from a Greek aviation source that the EgyptAir plane crashed off the island of Karpathos. The captain of a merchant ship in the area had reported seeing a ‘flame’ in the sky and marine traffic monitors showed civilian vessels joining a search in the area.”Guardian

The area where the plane disappeared is heavily traveled by both air and sea traffic. Greek officials are investigating the reports from the Greek merchant vessel that said the explosion “lit up the sky”

I cannot but help to remember the two guided missile destroyers conducting drills in the South China Sea when Flight 370 was seen “burning in the sky” or the Israeli air combat drills taking place when Metrojet Flight 9268 blew up midair. I guess that’s because there are naval drills (Phoenix Express 2016) taking place in the Med. Sea from May 17 -27 and of course, they include guided missile destroyers.

There are persistent reports that some form of distress beacon was picked up by both Greek authorities and EgyptAir in that area roughly 2 hours after the plane dropped off radar though the Egyptian military denies these claims.

The Daily Mirror is reporting the transponder has fixed the crash location. There is also a photo being published by the Daily Star which purports to show Flight MS804 burning in the night sky. Since it’s not confirmed I will not publish it.

What makes this case somewhat unique is the fact that there was no distress call from the plane and the fact that it disappeared off radar contact instantly. It didn’t drop out of radar coverage. It didn’t seem to slow down. It just vanished.

At 37,000 feet, there is little that could have happened to the plane short of:

  1. major catastrophic mechanical malfuntion
  2. terrorist attack via bomb on board
  3. cruise missile attack
  4. air-to-air missile attack

MSM talking heads are focusing solely on the terrorism angle. France is in the middle of a massive nationwide protest and they have enacted their draconian emergency security laws in order to clamp down on protesters. The other day they staged a “burning cop car” production to gin-up support for these measures with the general public. Something else being accredited to “ISIS” would certainly not hurt their situation right now.

al Sisi is under pressure as well so the fact that the event took place 3 minutes into Egyptian airspace is of note because that means they are in charge of the investigation… not Greece.

All that said… we have very little information to go on right now except for this:

The international Phoenix Express 2016 naval exercises will take place May 17 – 27 in the Mediterranean Sea.

This year, Algeria, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and the United States, representatives from the NATO Shipping Center, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the EU border management agency Frontex are taking part in the drills. RT

You might recall, in the vicinity of many of the most recent airline disasters, there were active military conflicts or drills taking place at the time the planes went down:

http://willyloman.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/map-2.jpg?w=356&h=269

In the case of Metrojet Flight 9268, they put together a little band of whitebread jihadists who pretended to take credit for the downing of the plane.

do they get these kids straight out of acting school in Tel Aviv?

According to the Phoenix Express 2016 website:

U.S. units participating include the dive and rescue salvage ship USNS Grasp (T-ARS 51), and the USS Gravely (DDG 107). Additionally, medical and maritime interdiction operations specialists will assist participating partner nation units during the exercise.” Phoenix Express 2016

The USS Gravely is a Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer with the motto “First To Conquer”. “Gravely was sent to patrol the eastern Mediterranean Sea in response to rising rumors of an imminent U.S. military intervention in the Syrian civil war

The talking heads are focusing almost entirely on the “ISIS” theory at this point though they could attempt to portray it as something done by either Turkey or Syria (or “ISIS” flying Libyan planes?) There are so many regimes to change in the area, who knows how it will play out.

As more info becomes available, I will report on it.

My condolences to the families of those lost in this horrible tragedy.

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http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2016/05/19/egyptair-flight-ms804-phoenix-express-2016-naval-exercises-may-17-27/