The British passenger feared missing on EgyptAir Flight MS804 has been named as dad-of-two Richard Osman.

The doctor's son, 40, is feared to be one of the 66 people killed when in Paris to Cairo flight disappeared off radar this morning.

Richard is believed to have been flying to work for a gold mining company in Egypt when the plane vanished.

His name has appeared on two separate lists of passengers which have been circulating on social media.

The qualified geologist grew up in Tanerdy, Carmarthen, West Wales, but is believed to have been living in Jersey of late.

Richard Osman
Richard Osman is feared to have been on board the EgyptAir flight

A former neighbour in Wales described him as "a lovely, lovely boy."

Audrey Jones said: "He was such a nice lad and always very good to his mother."

Another neighbour Maria Bengeyfield, 64, added: "Richard was a lovely young man and was always travelling around the world.


"This is a terrible tragedy for his poor family."

Lifejacket found near assumed wreckage of EgyptAir MS804 flight
Lifejacket found near assumed wreckage of EgyptAir MS804 flight

So far two bodies and pieces of debris have been found in the search of missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 - just hours after the plane plunged 22,000 feet into the sea, it is reported.

The corpses, which have not yet been identified, were discovered in the south Mediterranean by a Greek frigate this afternoon, according to Al Arabiya news channel.

They were uncovered in the same spot as two large plastic floating objects, which were seen close to an area where a transponder signal was emitted earlier.

The objects, which appeared to be pieces of plastic in white and red, are believed to be debris from the missing plane, Greek defence sources said.

Keep up to date with latest developments on our live blog

The plane disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean at around 2.30am local time

It comes as an official has revealed that the plane 'made sudden swerves' and plunged thousands of feet, spinning at 360 degrees, before disappearing off radar

A top airline expert earlier said he believes the disappearance of the aircraft, which was carrying 66 people, was ‘almost certainly’ caused by ‘an attack’.

And other aviation and security experts have suggested it may have been caused by an explosive device.

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Speculation is growing online that it may have been downed by a missile but there is no evidence to back that up.

Greece's defence minister Panos Kammenos told a press conference at midday: "At 3.39am (2.39am UK time) the course of the aircraft was south and south-east of Kassos and Karpathos (islands).

Greek Defense Minister and Independent Greeks (ANEL) leader Panos Kammenos
Greece's defence minister Panos Kammenos has revealed flight's final moments

"Immediately after it entered Cairo FIR (airspace) and made swerves and a descent I describe: 90 degrees left and then 360 degrees to the right."

One British passenger is known to have been among 66 people on board the missing plane that 'vanished' in the early hours after heading into Egyptian airspace.

What is certain so far is:

Relatives and friends of passengers who were flying in an EgyptAir plane that vanished
Relatives and friends of passengers on the missing EgyptAir plane are gathering at Cairo Airport

Jean-Paul Troadec, the former chief of France’s air accident investigation unit, is one of the most respected names in aviation and he said the lack of live emergency alert suggested a ‘brutal event’.

He told Europe 1 radio station in Paris: "A technical problem, a fire or a failed motor do not cause an instant accident, and the team has time to react.

"The team said nothing, they did not react, so it was very probably a brutal event and we can certainly think about an attack."

There have been conflicting reports about whether the plane sent an emergency distress signal.

Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 passengers
Relatives of passengers on missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are searching for answers

Air travel expert Julian Bray said no alert being made could mean the airliner suffered a "catastrophic failure" possibly as a result of an explosion.

He said: "It has to be a catastrophic failure because everything went dead and they wouldn't have had time to get a message out.

"It's gone into the deepest part of the Mediterranean."

Security expert Will Geddes urged caution over assuming the disappearance was caused by terrorism just because the flight had departed from France which has been the victim of recent ISIS attacks.

An woman reacts as she waits outside the Egyptair in-flight service building
A woman is overcome as she waits for news outside the EgyptAir offices in Cairo

"There's a lot of concentrated focus on terrorist issues around Paris but one has to be cautious about drawing conclusions," he said.

But Mr Geddes added that even if it is confirmed the plane did give an emergency signal, that would not rule out terrorism as a possibility because an explosion would not necessarily have caused the immediate destruction of the plane.

Unidentified relatives and friends of passengers who were on an EgyptAir plane
Relatives gathered at Cairo Airport are awaiting news of the search for missing Flight MS804

"It would not have needed to be a large device - if it was a terrorist-related failure - to lose cabin pressure," he said.

Commercial airline pilot Chris McGee told Sky News there were only two circumstances that would prevent a pilot from contacting air traffic control.

"One would be if there was human intervention, if you are prevented from doing so by someone preventing you from doing that, which is a very, very, very unusual situation indeed," she said.

"The second possibility, which is also very unprecedented, is that something has occurred on the flight deck which means we are simply too busy, we have got to handle what is happening to the aircraft at that point in time and we do that first.

"The first thing you are taught is fly the airplane first, handle the problem, and then communicate. So if you have got your hands full that is potentially why you wouldn't talk to air traffic."

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls speaking about the missing EgyptAir plane
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says no theory has been ruled out yet

The French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says nothing has been ruled out yet in the investigation - with all theories being considered.

Speaking on RTL Radio he said: "We are in close contact with the Egyptian authorities, both civil and military.

"The Egyptian authorities have already sent air reconnaissance teams to the site, and France is ready to help with the search if the Egyptian authorities ask, of course.


Egyptair flight MS804, carrying 56 passengers, seven crew and three security personnel, vanished while en route from Paris to Cairo, the airline confirmed. The airline has opened hotlines for relatives at +202 25989320 (outside Egypt) and 080077770000 (landline in Egypt).

Relatives of missing EgyptAir flight MS804 are seen at Cairo Airport
Relatives of missing EgyptAir Flight MS804 passengers are rushing to Cairo Airport for information

The aircraft, believed to be an Airbus A320, took off from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport late on Wednesday night.

Greece said it had deployed air assets and a frigate to an area in the southern Mediterranean where the aircraft dropped off radar. Vessels are converging on a point in the sea 30 miles from its last known position - southwest of Cyprus.

A defence ministry source said authorities were also investigating an account from the captain of a merchant ship who reported a “flame in the sky” some 130 nautical miles south of the island of Karpathos.

The plane has most likely crashed into the sea, Ihab Raslan, a spokesman for the Egyptian civil aviation authority, told SkyNews Arabia.

Egyptair Airbus a320
The Egyptair Airbus A320 (not pictured) vanished off radar

It was due to arrive at Cairo International Airport early on Thursday morning.

However, its fate is currently unknown after it disappeared off radar at 37,000ft around 10 miles inside Egyptian airspace.

In an tweet in Arabic, the airline added that search and rescue teams have been deployed.

Of the 56 passengers on board, two are infants and one is a child.

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In a tweet, the airline said: "An informed source at EGYPTAIR stated that Flight no MS804,which departed Paris at 23:09 (CEST), heading to Cairo has disappeared from radar."