U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft supports search for EgyptAir plane

The United States Navy on Thursday said a P-3 Orion long-range aircraft was supporting the search for an EgyptAir plane that disappeared on a flight from Paris to Cairo over the Mediterranean.

An EgyptAir jet carrying 66 passengers and crew from Paris to Cairo disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean south of Greece, with Athens saying the plane swerved in mid-air before plunging from cruising height and vanishing.

Greek state television said aircraft debris had been found in the sea during a search for the missing Airbus A320. Earlier, Greek officials said pieces of plastic and two lifevests were found floating some 230 miles south of Crete.

Officials were reluctant to speculate over the disappearance while the search was underway. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any explanation, including an attack like the one blamed for bringing down a Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai peninsula last year.

But despite the caution, the country’s aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely to have taken down the aircraft than a technical failure