Doomed EgyptAir flight broke up midair after fire: Report

New York — An EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean in May likely broke up in midair after a fire erupted in or near the cockpit, the New York Times reported. However it remains unclear whether the blaze was triggered by mechanical malfunction or a criminal act, Egyptian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Times. Last Saturday an Egyptian-led investigative committee reported that the word “fire” could be heard on EgyptAir flight 804’s cockpit voice recorder before it crashed. But the forensic and aviation officials in Cairo who spoke with the Times said that both the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, combined with the distribution and condition of recovered debris and human remains, had led them to their latest conclusion. EgyptAir flight 804 was carrying 40 Egyptians, 15 French people, two Iraqis, two Canadians and one passenger each from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. The Airbus A320 was en route from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean. The officials said the evidence appeared to be sufficient to rule out at least one early theory: that a pilot had deliberately flown the plane into the water. According to air-accident experts who are not involved in the EgyptAir inquiry, the absence of large debris and a relatively wide dispersal of objects along the ocean floor indicate that the plane broke up in the air, although they do not explain what might have caused that to occur. A plane that fractures on impact with water typically leaves significant clusters of heavy debris, including sections of fuselage, wings and other large, identifiable parts such as engines or landing gear. The lack of intact human remains is another indicator of a midair breakup, experts said.