05:08

Jean-Paul Troadec Photograph: Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images

Jean-Paul Troadec, former president of the French air accident investigation bureau (BEA) was asked by Europe 1 to speculate on what caused the plane’s disappearance.

He said:

“We have to remain very careful after the disappearance from the radars of the EgyptAir aircraft. The priority is to begin the investigation and to find, if possible, debris from the aircraft and eventually, the site of the wreckage. We can make certain hypotheses...there’s a strong possibility of an explosion on board from a bomb or a suicide bomber. The idea of a technical accident when weather conditions were good, seems also possible but not that likely. We could also consider a missile, which is what happened to the Malaysia Airlines aircraft in July 2014.

“If the crew didn’t send an alert signal, it’s because what happened was very sudden. A problem with an engine or a technical fault, would not produce an immediate accident. In this case, the crew did not react, which makes us think of a bomb.”