Egypt signs contract to find black box of crashed plane

Egypt has signed a contract with two French and Italian companies to determine the exact location and search for the black box of the MS804 plane that crashed in the Mediterranean.

The signing on May 25 took place one week after flight MS804 crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt has not been able to find the black box, making the cause of this tragedy still a mystery.

Photo: CNN.

EgyptAir Chairman Safwat Masalam said that two French and Italian companies will join Egyptian search teams to locate and search for the black box of flight MS804.

Mr. Masalam affirmed that the search for the black box and the flight recorder of the A320 flight MS804 that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 is still urgent: “We are using submarines to search for the black box. The black box stores all information related to the plane crash, from the time the plane took off until the accident. It also records the voice in the cockpit.”

Some Egyptian officials said that the search and rescue work for the MS804 plane that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea is facing many difficulties because the search area is quite large. In particular, the black box is located at a depth of more than 4,000m at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, while the Egyptian Navy's submarine can only dive to a maximum depth of 3,200m. An Egyptian government source said that the country is negotiating with US companies to buy equipment to receive black box signals.

Regarding the plane crash, Egypt's Al-Ahram newspaper reported that during the flight from Paris to Cairo, EgyptAir's A320 flight MS804 (carrying 66 people) sent 11 messages and no technical problems were recorded when the plane took off from Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris.

The newspaper published a copy of the technical inspection log, signed by the pilot, and the messages as evidence. The first two messages reported that the engines were operating properly. The third message reported a temperature increase in the cockpit window near the co-pilot. The messages continued for three minutes before the plane disappeared from radar.

Europe 1 TV reported that the plane with flight number MS804 did not contact Egyptian air traffic control. Egyptian air traffic control only saw the plane on radar between Greek and Egyptian airspace, 482 km from Cairo.

Experts and forces from France, Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom and Cyprus are currently participating in the investigation and assisting in the search for the crashed plane. Investigators and Egyptian authorities have not ruled out any scenario leading to this latest aviation tragedy.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said: “We are all very eager to know the cause of the accident. But so far we have not determined the cause, all situations are possible. Therefore, up to this point, we should not confirm any specific scenario of the plane crash.”

EgyptAir flight MS804 Airbus A320 crashed in the Mediterranean Sea on May 19, killing all 66 passengers and crew on board. The plane took off from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France, en route to Cairo, Egypt.

According to VOV