Flash Airlines Flight 604
SU-ZCF, the aircraft involved, at Zurich Airport in March 2002
|
|
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 3 January 2004 |
| Summary |
Unresolved (dispute between investigators)
|
| Site |
Red Sea near Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 27°50′N 34°23′E / 27.833°N 34.383°ECoordinates: 27°50′N 34°23′E / 27.833°N 34.383°E |
| Passengers | 135 |
| Crew | 13 |
| Fatalities | 148 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-3Q8 |
| Aircraft name | Noar |
| Operator | Flash Airlines |
| Registration | SU-ZCF |
| Flight origin |
Sharm El Sheikh Int'l Airport Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt |
| Stopover |
Cairo International Airport Cairo, Egypt |
| Destination |
Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris, France |
Unresolved (dispute between investigators)
Flash Airlines Flight 604 was a charter flight operated by Egyptian charter company Flash Airlines. On 3 January 2004, the Boeing 737-300 crashed into the Red Sea shortly after takeoff from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, killing all 135 passengers, most of them French tourists, and all 13 crew members. The findings of the crash investigation are controversial, with accident investigators from the different countries involved not agreeing on the cause.
Flight 604's death toll was the highest of any aviation accident in Egypt until the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 nearly twelve years later. It remains the deadliest accident involving a Boeing 737-300, and the deadliest involving the Boeing 737 classic series.
The accident airplane was a Boeing model 737-3Q8 airplane and was equipped two CFM56-3 engines. It had been operated by Flash Airlines since June 2001. At the time of the accident it had accumulated 25603 flight hours and 17976 cycles of takeoffs and landings.
Khadr Abdullah (referred to as Mohammed Khedr in a Times Online article) was the captain. He was 53 years of age and was a highly respected pilot with almost 7,500 flight hours under his belt. Amr Al-Shaafei served as the first officer. He was 25 years old with fewer than 800 hours of flying experience. Ashraf Abdelhamid, who also held Canadian and US citizenship, was training as a first officer and had experience flying corporate jets; he sat in the cockpit with the pilot and copilot.
Most of the passengers were French tourists who originated from the Paris metropolitan area. FRAM (), a French travel agency, sold most of the tickets to the flight. A provisional passenger list dated 5 January 2004 stated that twelve entire French families had boarded the flight. Members of seventeen families appeared at Charles de Gaulle Airport to take passengers from the flight; this fact gave the airport staff indication that entire families died on Flight 604.
One of the passengers that was supposed to be on the flight was French citizen Pascal Mercier and his family. He cancelled their reservation because he didn't like the early morning departure time since he had young children and the fact that they would have to stop in Cairo.
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Wikipedia