Flash Airlines Flight 604 2.13

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.History of the flightThe accident airplane was a Boeing model 737-3Q8 airplane and was equipped two CFM56-3 engines. It was built and delivered to TACA International Airlines as N373TA in October 1992. 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.Passengers and crewKhadr Abdullah 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.