EgyptAir MS804 Recorder Indicates Fire Before Crash

July 17, 2016

Audio from the cockpit voice recorder of crashed EgyptAir flight MS804 mentions a fire on board the plane in its final moments, the investigation committee said.

The Airbus A320 crashed into the eastern Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19. All 66 people on board were killed. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Earlier analysis of the plane's flight data recorder showed there had been smoke in the lavatory and avionics bay, while recovered wreckage from the jet's front section showed signs of high temperature damage and soot.

Initial audio extracted from the voice recorder had indicated an attempt to put out a fire on the jet before it crashed, committee sources had told Reuters.

The committee said on Saturday it was still "too early to determine the reason or the place where that fire occurred."

The committee also said the John Lethbridge search vessel had completed its search for human remains, which will now be transferred to Cairo for DNA analysis.

(Reuters)