Crashed EgyptAir jet flight recorders severely damaged

A second flight data recorder from the EgpytAir flight that crashed mysteriously last month has been recovered from the Mediterranean Sea, Egyptian investigators said Friday.

“The analysis of data may take several weeks; if the memory units at both recorders are in good condition, then the unloading process will start right away at the labs of the Central Department for Aircraft Investigation”, the committee’s press release said.

If the damage is too severe, the black box units may even have to be sent overseas to be fixed.

Investigators were able to retrieve the memory units which are considered the most important part of the recording devices.

This undated photo provided by Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry shows a black box of the crashed EgyptAir plane.

EgyptAir Flight MS804 disappeared from radar en route to Cairo from Paris at about 2:45am local time, just as it had entered Egyptian airspace.

What caused the flight to suddenly disappear from radar as it cruised over the Mediterranean with 66 people aboard has been the subject of intense speculation.

BEA said it had dispatched an expert to Cairo to assist the probe.

If intact, the cockpit recorder should reveal pilot conversations and any cockpit alarms, as well as other clues such as engine noise.

The wreckage was believed to be at a depth of about 9,800 feet.

This story was first published on CNN.com, “EgyptAir Flight 804: Second black box found“.

The committee is now conducting electrical tests on both memory units which is the step before the start of data extraction, it said.

Wreckage from the plane and body parts have been found east of the plane’s last reported location.

“We will be having a wealth of information that helps the investigators eliminate some possibilities while giving priority to others”, said Hani Galal, an Egyptian aviation expert. Honeywell, the US technology company that manufactured the cockpit voice recorder, is providing technical support as well. The signals helped narrow the search to a 5-kilometer (3-mile) area.

Last October, a Russian plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board, and Islamic State claimed it was responsible.