This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/02/world/middleeast/egyptair-black-box.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Black Box From Missing EgyptAir Flight 804 Is Said to Be Detected Black Box From Missing EgyptAir Flight 804 Is Said to Be Detected
(about 1 hour later)
CAIRO — A French naval vessel fitted with sophisticated underwater sensors has picked up a signal believed to have emanated from one of two data recorders from EgyptAir Flight 804, Egyptian investigators said on Wednesday.CAIRO — A French naval vessel fitted with sophisticated underwater sensors has picked up a signal believed to have emanated from one of two data recorders from EgyptAir Flight 804, Egyptian investigators said on Wednesday.
The flight crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 while en route to Cairo from Paris, killing all 66 people on board. Data signals, and the discovery of wreckage and human remains, have suggested a rapid loss of control just before the crash.The flight crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 while en route to Cairo from Paris, killing all 66 people on board. Data signals, and the discovery of wreckage and human remains, have suggested a rapid loss of control just before the crash.
But the cause of the disaster remains a mystery. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility. The data recorders would help determine whether the crash was an accident, and if so, how it happened. But the cause of the disaster remains a mystery. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility, though the Egyptian aviation minister, Sherif Fathy, has said that terrorism is a more likely cause for the crash than a technical failure. The data recorders would help determine whether the crash was an accident, and if so, how it happened.
The vessel that detected the signal, the survey ship Laplace, was taking part in the search for the data recorders from the Airbus A320 when it “received through its search equipment signals from the seabed of the wreckage search area,” according to a statement on Wednesday from the Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee, which is leading the inquiry into the crash. The signals are “assumed to be from one of the data recorders,” the committee added. The vessel that picked up the signal, the survey ship Laplace, has been taking part in the search for the data recorders from the Airbus A320 since last week.
Although it is not certain the signal detected “corresponds with” a beacon from the data recorders, it was “almost certain to be coming from one of the black boxes, said a European official who had been briefed on the search operation and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation. On Wednesday, it “received through its search equipment signals from the seabed of the wreckage search area,” according to a statement from the Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee, which is leading the inquiry into the crash. The signals are “assumed to be from one of the data recorders,” the committee added.
The signal is “almost certain to be coming from one of the black boxes,” said a European official who had been briefed on the search operation. However, the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and who spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the finding was “not 100 percent verified.”
Another research vessel, the John Lethbridge, is being prepared to join the search team within a week and to retrieve the recorders if they are found, officials said. The vessel is operated by Deep Open Search, a company based in Mauritius.Another research vessel, the John Lethbridge, is being prepared to join the search team within a week and to retrieve the recorders if they are found, officials said. The vessel is operated by Deep Open Search, a company based in Mauritius.
The search for the EgyptAir plane has narrowed to an area within a three-mile radius of the point in the Mediterranean where satellite data indicate that the plane probably went down. The search for the EgyptAir plane has narrowed to an area within a three-mile radius of the point in the Mediterranean where satellite data indicate that the plane probably went down. That area is about 180 miles north of the Egyptian coast.
Locator signals emitted by flight data and cockpit voice recorders, also known as black boxes, can be picked up even when they are deep underwater.Locator signals emitted by flight data and cockpit voice recorders, also known as black boxes, can be picked up even when they are deep underwater.
The battery-powered beacons are certified to emit a distinct metronomic “ping” for about 30 days after a crash, which means the EgyptAir plane’s black boxes are likely to fall silent around the middle of June — a deadline that has added urgency to the search.The battery-powered beacons are certified to emit a distinct metronomic “ping” for about 30 days after a crash, which means the EgyptAir plane’s black boxes are likely to fall silent around the middle of June — a deadline that has added urgency to the search.