Renad Ghanem
Samah Wahdan, a former EgyptAir cabin crew, who knew two of the crew who were on board, said that the news of the plane’s disappearance and then the crash came as huge blow to her. “The news is tragic and sorrowful,” she said.
“It’s a very sad day for all of us, not only because of the accident, but because I knew personally two of the crew. We have flown together many times to different destinations and we had fond memories. It was heartbreaking for me to see their pictures among the lost crew,” said Samah.
Samah added, “I worked with Haitham El Azizy many times, he is a top professional, helpful person and he was a very decent man, as well as Mervat Zakria, who too was a very good woman and professional. It is hard for me to describe how good they both were,” she said.
“I have worked for more than ten years as cabin crew and all of us who fly daily are realistic. But this news despite being realistic still leaves us in a shock. I was praying that the aircraft was only missing and not crashed. But after two hours of the news, I knew in my heart it must have crashed, as long as its disappearance from the radar is confirmed. The slim hopes that it could be hijacked was dashed when news said that it was off the radar, and if an highjack had taken place it would be on the radar no matter what,” she said.
Samah reiterated that Egyptian pilots are one of the best pilots she has flown with in her career; she said that Egyptair has complacency toward the safety of its flights and the professionalism of crews. She added that the EgyptAir pilots and cabin crew are qualified and also highly trained on managing crisis onboard. “Based on my experience in aviation I believe that if it has crashed so it could be technical or external factor, but at the end of the day it’s hard for us, whether as Egyptian or French, to lose 66 souls,” she said.
