EgyptAir crash: Traces of explosives found on bodies of victims killed in air disaster in the Mediterranean
Finding suggests possible terrorism in crash seven months after Isis downed Russian passenger jet
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Traces of explosives have been found on the bodies from an EgyptAir plane that crashed into the Mediterranean, raising the possibility of a terror attack on board.
All 66 people on board flight MS804 were killed when it went down during its flight from Paris to Cairo in May.
Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said a criminal investigation would now begin into the disaster, which is expected to look into the possibility of a bomb being planted on board.
“Forensic investigations have found traces of explosives on some human remains from the victims of the incident,” a statement from the investigation committee said.
Data from the Airbus A320's black boxes previously suggested a fire just behind the flight deck, with indications of heat and thick black smoke.
Voice recordings reportedly revealed a pilot attempted to put out a blaze but the transcript has not been made public and the cause remains unclear.
Seven minutes before contact was lost with the plane as it flew from Paris to Cairo, a sequence of automated “ACARS” messages indicated multiple threats on board.
The first message, sent at 2.26am Cairo time, read: “ANTI ICE R WINDOW”, indicating a problem with the heater for the co-pilot’s window. Six more messages followed in the next three minutes – two over window sensors and two mentioning smoke.
One detector was in a toilet behind the flight deck and the second in the avionics bay beneath the cockpit.
While the smoke detectors are intended to indicate fire, they can also be triggered by condensation of the kind that occurs in the event of sudden decompression.
The final two messages, sent within seconds of each other at 2.29am, read “AUTO FLT FCU 2 FAULT” and “F/CTL SEC 3 FAULT”, indicating problems with the autopilot and the flight control system respectively.
Four minutes later, the aircraft’s transponder made its last broadcast.
The crew did not make a distress call and radar data suggested the plane veered sharply before hitting the water.
French authorities said there was no evidence the disaster was terror-related following an initial manslaughter investigation in June.
Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre, from the prosecutor's office, said findings could change if new evidence emerged.
No group claimed responsibility for the crash, which came seven months after a Russian passenger jet was downed by Isis over the Sinai Peninsula.
Militants are believed to have planted a bomb in the hold before its departure from Sharm el-Sheikh, detonating it to kill all 226 people on board.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments