EgyptAir signal detected, investigators say - CNN.com

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/01/africa/egyptair-possible-signal-detected/

EgyptAir Flight 804: Black box signal detected, French investigators say

By Sarah Sirgany and Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN

Updated 9:20 AM ET, Wed June 1, 2016

Story highlights

• A French vessel involved in search efforts detects a signal from the seabed
• Flight 804 crashed last month in the Mediterranean en route from Paris to Cairo

Cairo (CNN)[Breaking news alert, posted at 9:19 a.m. ET Wednesday]

French investigators said Wednesday that they'd confirmed that signals detected by a French naval vessel in the Mediterranean were from one of EgyptAir Flight 804's so-called black boxes.

[Previous story, posted at 8:50 a.m. ET Wednesday]

Investigators said Wednesday that a French naval vessel may have detected an underwater signal from one of EgyptAir Flight 804's so-called black boxes.

Specialized locator equipment on board the French vessel La Place detected a signal from the seabed in the Mediterranean Sea, the Egyptian investigative committee said in a statement.

The signal is "assumed to be from one of the data recorders," the committee said.

The Airbus A320, which had 66 people aboard, crashed in the Mediterranean on May 19 on a flight from Paris to Cairo.

Since then, authorities have been searching for wreckage and the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders, which could reveal evidence about what caused the crash.

EgyptAir Flight 804's final moments in 1 minute 01:09

Authorities hope to locate the data recorders, so a specialized vessel managed by the Deep Ocean Search company can then retrieve them. That vessel is set to join the search team within a week, the investigative committee said.

Conflicting reports over final moments

So far, search teams have found small pieces of debris, victims' remains and personal effects from the plane. They haven't found the aircraft's fuselage.

This isn't the first time investigators have said they detected a signal from the plane.

Last week a lead investigator in the search said airplane manufacturer Airbus had detected signals from the plane's Emergency Locator Transmitter, a device that can manually or automatically activate at impact and will usually send a distress signal.