The flight from Paris to Mumbai disappeared after the aircraft began to unexpectedly descend near Isfahan, where it eventually landed. Air traffic monitor FlightRadar24 said the plane’s signal had been lost. An error message said: “Live flight not found. Flight AF218 is currently not tracked by Flightradar24. It’s either out of coverage or has already landed.”
The flight history chart showed the plane flying from France through Europe and western Asia before disappearing over central Iran.
The pilot issued a ‘7700 squawk, which indicates a general emergency before it lost contact, which was later established.
Isfahan is at the foothills of a mountain range.
The flight went off radar at around 9,000ft.
It is unknown how any passengers are on board.
Social media users flocked to Twitter to find out any information about the flight.
One Twitter user said: “What’s the latest update on AF218 CDG-BOM @airfrance ? Was squawking 7700, then a rapid descent near Isfahan in Iran and now doesn’t show up on FR24! All okay? #flightradar24 #avgeek”
One, responding to the news, said: “#prayer for #af218.”
Another added: “The tracking just stopped @flightradar24 so I really really hope everything is okay #af218.”
The aircraft landed approximately 30 minutes after the emergency was declared.