A handout image from the Egyptian military shows debris recovered Friday from crashed flight EgyptAir MS804.
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The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis, a French civil aviation body, said it was premature to determine the meaning of the messages, but experts said the finding was consistent with speculation among USA and Egyptian investigators that a bomb could have exploded on board.
Daily Mail of London reports that the plane’s twisted blue metal panelling, marked with EgyptAir branding, as well as items of clothing and yellow lift jackets have been recovered from the sea, where investigators continue to search the wreckage.
Egypt’s military released Saturday what it said are images of wreckage and personal belongings found in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804, which crashed this week in the Mediterranean Sea with 66 people aboard.
According to data published by air industry website Aviation Herald, the information shows that smoke was first reported in the aircraft’s lavatory before the aircraft’s system shut down, preventing the pilots from sending any distress signals.
The flight data was sent through an automatic system called the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), which routinely downloads maintenance and fault data to the airline operating the aircraft.
Egyptian officials have said they suspect terrorism, but no group has come forward to claim credit.
This article was first posted at 1:31 a.m. “At this very moment all scenarios are being examined and none is being given greater emphasis”, he said. “A minute later, avionics compartment smoke detected.Two minutes later, the flight control units are failing”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault and representatives of Paris Aeroport, the French prosecutor, EgyptAir, and the Egyptian ambassador to Paris met about 100 family members of those on the flight on Saturday. They included a boy and two babies.
The passengers included 30 Egyptians, 15 French citizens, two Iraqis, two Canadians, and citizens from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
EgyptAir and Greek officials said Friday that searchers found debris from the plane in the water.
Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos relayed the Egyptian discovery of a body part, seats and suitcases, citing Egyptian officials.
Egypt’s navy, with help from French and other vessels, was searching an area north of Alexandria, just south of where the signal from the plane was lost early on Thursday.
A European satellite spotted a 2 km-long oil slick in the Mediterranean, about 40 km (20 nautical miles) southeast of the aircraft’s last known position, the European Space Agency said.
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A French judicial official said investigators have begun to check and question all ground staff at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, who had either a direct or an indirect link to Flight 804 before it took off on Wednesday night.
