EgyptAir Flight MS804 hit by ‘on-board fire’ in lavatory close to plane’s vital electronics and engineering bay
Data appears to confirm presence of smoke just minutes before the doomed flight crashed into the Mediterranean sea
REPORTS have surfaced indicating EgyptAir Flight MS804 was hit by an on-board fire after smoke was recorded in a bathroom mere moments before the plane vanished.
The flight is thought to have sent auto signals out that reported smoke in a bathroom close to the aircraft’s electronics and engineering bay shortly after it entered into Egyptian airspace.
Seconds later, the smoke was detected in the avionics department, which was closely followed by a warning that the plane’s flight control units were failing, the Aviation Herald has reported.
Experts say this could suggest a fire broke out on the plane in the minutes directly preceding its crash into the sea.
The aviation blog claims to have gained access to the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) messages from the tragic A320.
The publication says the information was passed on by independent sources, though its authenticity is yet to be verified.
However, an international security expert tweeted an image of the alleged log, with the accompanying caption: “Smoke in the lavatory then spread for at least 3min.”
According to the data, smoke was detected in the bathroom at 2.26am local time.
The aircraft disappeared from the radar three minutes later at 2.29am.
In an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, aviation expert Tim van Beveren insisted “there was a fire on board”.
He said: "The system sent very clear messages. There was a lavatory smoke detected. A minute later, avionics compartment smoke detected...Two minutes later, the flight control units are failing."
Van Beveren added he expected Egyptian officials would soon confirm the fire.
Doomed flight MS804 was carrying 66 people, including a British dad-of-two, when it was travelling from Paris to Cairo before vanishing in the early hours of Thursday morning.
In a statement on Friday, the Civil Aviation Ministry explained “the Egyptian navy was able to retrieve more debris from the plane, some of the passengers' belongings, human remains, and plane seats.”
Despite this, the reason for the plane’s tragic crash is unconfirmed.
The navy had been searching an area approximately 290 kilometres to the north of Alexandria, just south of where the plane’s signal was lost.
There remains no sign of the majority of the aircraft’s wreckage, or of the location signal from the black box flight recorders which will likely fill in some of the blanks.
Speaking to state television, EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Moslem said the current radius of the search zone was 40 miles, but that it would be expanded if required.
Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to rule out any possibilities for the cause of the crash.
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