To date, some debris has been found, but not the A320’s fuselage or the flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR).
Advertisement
Today the search zone for those vital clues has been narrowed to two kilometres (1.25miles) from five kilometres(3.1miles), a source on the investigation committee said.
He added: “We must find exactly where the boxes are and how to pull them out”.
The passengers were 30 Egyptians, 15 French citizens, two Iraqis, two Canadians, and citizens from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
The head of Egypt’s air navigation has said the plane suddenly disappeared from radar while cruising at about 37,000 feet. A distress signal was never issued, EgyptAir has said. Although small pieces of wreckage have been recovered, the critical black boxes have remained elusive. DNA samples have been taken from the families of the victims in an attempt to identify some of the remains.
The underwater listening devices being used by the French search team are capable of detecting the beacons from a distance of up to 2.5 miles. But even if the batteries expire, locating the boxes remains a possibility.
Last week, officials from Airbus, the plane maker, said that the pings detected are automated signal from the plane and not necessarily from the black box.
Investigators have said it is too soon to determine what caused the disaster although a terror attack has not been ruled out. But so far no hard evidence has emerged.
Signals detected earlier today in the Mediterranean Sea are coming from an EgyptAir Flight 804 black box, French officials told ABC News. Some BEA investigators are on board of the Laplace. But at present, no terrorist group has claimed responsibility – including, notably, the Islamic State, which conducted a broadcast shortly after the crash.
The plane plunged into the Mediterranean sea with 66 people on board after taking off from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on route to Cairo. Moscow claims that incident was caused by a bomb. However, it will be sent overseas if it is in poor condition, he said.
Advertisement
Corbet reported from Paris.
