Submarine Sent to Crash Site of EgyptAir 804 to Locate Black Box
As the search for the black box continues, first audio from the flight’s interaction with ATC has been released.
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Egyptian President on Sunday said that a submarine is being sent to the site where the EgyptAir flight that crashed on May 19, to look for the black box.
He said the submarine, which can operate at a depth of 3,000 meters below the surface, left for the site Sunday. Egypt is jointly investigating the crash with France.
The first audio available from EgyptAir Flight 804 indicates that all was routine as the plane checked in with air traffic controllers in Zurich, Switzerland, late Wednesday night, before being handed over to Italian air traffic controllers in Padua (Padova).
Control: EgyptAir804 contact Padova 1-2-0, decimal 7-2-5, good night.
Pilot: This is 0-7-2-5 Padova control. (Unintelligible) 8-0-4. Thank you so much. Good day er good night.
The audio recording was taken from www.liveatc.net, a website providing live air traffic control broadcasts from around the world.
The communication occurred around midnight local time, about 2.5 hours before Greek air traffic controllers in Athens lost contact with the flight.
French authorities are questioning airport staff who had access to EgyptAir Flight 804. Cleaning crews are among those drawing attention.
One theory is that a bomb could have been placed in the plane while it was on the tarmac in Paris, or at its previous stops. However, there is no evidence so far of a bomb being aboard the flight that crashed on Thursday into the Mediterranean.
Sylvain Prevost, who trains Paris airport personnel, says cleaning staff are trained to alert authorities of suspicious items. Prevost also noted that despite extensive efforts to ensure security, workers can sometimes be threatened into cooperating with criminals.
(With inputs from AP)
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