EgyptAir flight crashes in Mediterranean

The black box from the crashed EgyptAir jet is to be analyzed in Egypt if the device is found intact, according to Hani Galal, air accident investigator, who spoke with Egyptian broadcaster CBC. He noted that if the device is found damaged, it will be sent for analysis abroad.

The head of Egypt's National Navigation Services Company, Ihab Mohi El-Din, told CBC news that Egyptian officials were able to track the EgyptAir plane for one minute before it crashed, but had been unable to communicate with the crew.

The Daily Mail cited sources claiming that locator pings emitted by MS804's black boxes may have been discovered on the Mediterranean seabed. 

US intelligence source told CBS News that the black boxes have been located by their pings, adding that recovery efforts were under way. 

The crashed EgyptAir Arbus A320 was reportedly vandalized by aviation workers at Cairo Airport about two years ago, the New York Times reported, citing three EgyptAir security officials. “We will bring this plane down” was scratched in Arabic on its underside.

The vandals were said to be Muslim Brotherhood sympathizers, as they played on the plane’s registration number, SU-GCC, to scribble comments insulting Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

EgyptAir security officials maintain that the message was related to Egypt’s internal political turmoil, and not a literal threat from a militant group. The airline subsequently introduced additional security measures, including the addition of unarmed security guards aboard the planes, three of which reportedly died in the MS804 crash.

A preliminary report on the Flight 804 crash will be released in a month, Al-Ahram reported, citing Egypt’s chief investigator, Ayman al-Mukaddam.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has had a telephone conversation with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shukri, to convey the deepest sorrow over the loss of the Flight 804.

"Lavrov has offered his sincerest condolences over the crash of EgyptAir's airliner and death of the Egyptian nationals," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

A source at the Civil Aviation Ministry has denied reports that the black boxes have been found. The source told the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm that if the black boxes were found, they would notify the public "immediately."

CBS claims that the flight recorders of EgyptAir Flight 804 may have been located close to the area where human remains and debris from the aircraft were found earlier. The report is yet to be confirmed.

The military has released the first photos of recovered debris from the crashed EgyptAir A320, including a life jacket and other parts of the aircraft bearing the airline's logo. The photos have been posted on the Egyptian Armed Forces' official Facebook page.

France's Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) has confirmed that the aircraft's smoke detection systems were sending alert messages, AFP reported. Previous unconfirmed reports on smoke alerts cited data obtained from an Egyptian source, which had access to an automatic system aboard the plane called the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS).