Homeland Security chair: EgyptAir may have been downed by bomb

A bomb could have been detonated on board EgyptAir Flight 804, the plane carrying 66 people that went missing Thursday between Paris and Cairo, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul told The Hill.

{mosads}The Texas Republican said investigators won’t be able to make a determination of what happened until the plane’s black boxes are recovered. But McCaul said there are early clues pointing to a possible terrorist attack.

“Obviously, there are concerns of terrorism,” McCaul said in a brief interview as he ducked into a secure briefing with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Transportation Security Administrator Peter Neffenger. “That plane, from what I understand, was in Cairo, Tunis and Paris [in the previous 24 hours], so it could have possibly been an inside job at the Paris airport or a bomb could have been placed on the plane prior to this.

“There wasn’t a lot of radio traffic, so it may have been something a lot more sudden, which would indicate an explosion,” McCaul said.

Talking to reporters, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) also said he is receiving regular briefings about the plane, but said nothing is known yet about what happened.

EgyptAir officials said Thursday afternoon they had found what appeared to be debris from the aircraft, which disappeared from radar as it traveled from Paris to Cairo. Planes and ships were searching for the Airbus A320 in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday, CNN reported. 

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has not yet begun receiving national security briefings, but he raised eyebrows when he surmised Thursday morning that the plane was downed by a terrorist attack.

“Looks like yet another terrorist attack. Airplane departed from Paris,” Trump tweeted. “When will we get tough, smart and vigilant? Great hate and sickness!”

— This post was updated at 1:12 p.m.