Egyptair cockpit voice recorder suggests fire on plane

Egyptair cockpit voice recorder suggests fire on plane
By Catherine Hardy with Reuters, The Independent
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The Airbus A320 was en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19 when it plunged into the eastern Mediterranean with the loss of all 66 on board.

  • Cockpit voice recorder suggests fire had taken hold
  • Corroborates information from flight data recorder
  • 66 died when MS804 crashed on May 19
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Investigators now think the pilots on board the doomed Egyptair flight MS804 were battling to put out a fire before the crash.

Investigators think a blaze may have taken hold on the plane in its final moments.

#EgyptAir voice recorder indicates attempt to put out fire: investigation sources https://t.co/mC8hybMDUV#MS804 (hat tip Le_Figaro</a>)</p>&mdash; ReutersAerospaceNews (ReutersAero) July 5, 2016

Where is this information from?

The flight deck voice recorder, which was taken to Cairo this week after being repaired at a laboratory in France.

The recordings usually capture pilot conversations and any alarms in the cockpit, as well as other clues like engine noise.

Is this a definite cause for the crash?

No.

Experts will carry out further analysis on the voices in the recordings.

They have not ruled out any possibilities regarding what may have caused the crash, which happened during a flight from Paris to Cairo on May 19.

The aircraft crashed into the eastern Mediterranean.

Is there any other information about what may have happened?

Yes.

Seven minutes before contact was lost with the Airbus A320, the flight data recorder registered a series of key messages.

They indicated multiple faults on board, including fire in the lavatory and main electronics bay.

The data from the voice recorder seems to corroborate this.

Are there signs of smoke on the wreckage that has been recovered?

Yes.

Investigators say wreckage recovered from the jet’s front section shows signs of scorching and smoke damage.

Information from the flight data recorder appears to confirm reports of smoke on board.

So did the plane crash because there was a fire on board?

It is not yet completely clear.

The French authorities have opened an investigation for manslaughter.

They say they have found no indication that the crash was related to terrorism.

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However, investigators have repeatedly emphasised that they have not ruled anything out.

Further analysis will be carried out on the data.

When did the plane crash?

The Airbus A320 was en route from Paris to Cairo on May 19 when it plunged into the eastern Mediterranean.

The 66 passengers and crew on board were killed.

Egyptair say those on board were:

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  • 30 Egyptians
  • 15 French
  • 2 Iraqis
  • 1 passenger from the UK, Sudan, Chad, Portugal, Algeria, Canada, Belgium, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia

The first human remains to be recovered from the wreckage were brought ashore on Monday

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