EgyptAir update - Curt Lewis

New data suggest EgyptAir Flight 804 didn't explode; cause of crash still unknown Egyptian officials probing the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 said Monday the plane veered off course before plunging into the sea, suggesting an abrupt in-flight explosion didn't bring down the aircraft. The Airbus Group SE A320 plane bound for Cairo from Paris deviated from its course while flying at 37,000 feet, first turning left before rolling to the right and completing a full circle, investigators said in their latest update into the May 19 crash that killed all 66 people onboard. The finding confirms statements initially made by Greek officials about the last seconds of flight but initially rejected by Egyptian authorities, who suggested contact was lost more abruptly. Investigators have spent the past few days going over all available radar information to reconcile the conflicting theses. The Egyptian finding does little to explain why the plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. No cause has been ruled out, Egyptian officials have said, including potential hostile action. The radar findings suggest, though, that there wasn't a sudden explosion that tore the plane apart midair.

EgyptAir Crash Black Boxes Will Stop 'Pinging' in 10 Days: Investigators CAIRO - The "black boxes" from an EgyptAir jet that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea last month are expected to stop emitting signals on June 24, investigators said. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) likely hold vital information about what caused Flight MS804 to crash on May 19, killing all 66 people on board. The task of recovering the devices from the sea floor would be much harder without the battery-powered "pings" indicating their location. Egypt's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee also said it had accepted a request by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to have an American representative join the investigation team because the Airbus A320's engines were built by a consortium that includes Connecticut-based Pratt & Whitney. In a statement issued Monday, the agency said it had received Egyptian military radar images confirming that the aircraft deviated from its planned course and turned a full circle before disappearing on route from Paris to Cairo. "This comes in accordance with [earlier] British and Greek radar images," it said. Egyptian officials had previously said that the plane suddenly disappeared off the radar at cruising altitude around 37,000 feet. France's air accident investigation agency, which is advising Egypt on the underwater search, has said that one of the search ships has continued to pick up "ping'"signals from one black box whose position has been narrowed to within just over a mile. To recover the black boxes from the seabed, almost 10,000 feet below the surface, investigators will need to pinpoint the signals to within a few meters and establish whether the "pingers" are still connected to the devices.