French accident investigators confirmed Saturday that ACARS data from the EgyptAir Airbus A320 that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea indicates the existence of smoke in the lavatory and avionics bay just as the pilots apparently lost control of the airplane. The series of messages, sent over a period of three minutes, also relayed window sensor indications and problems with the autopilot and flight control system.
Investigators have yet to draw any conclusions about what sort of catastrophic failure the data indicates, but the apparent quick succession of events does not appear consistent with an electrical fire caused by a system problem, which typically spreads gradually, allowing the flight crew to react. In this case, the pilots did not declare an emergency before the airplane turned 90 degrees to the left and then 360 degrees right before plummeting from 37,000 feet into the sea.
Separately, search crews have found debris from the airplane, including pieces of luggage, seats and body parts, floating some 180 miles off the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria, in an area almost precisely where controllers lost radar contact. The Airbus, operating as Flight MS804, disappeared from radar at about 2:45 a.m. Thursday while en route from Paris to Cairo.
The operation has officially turned from a search-and-rescue effort to a recovery task, suggesting authorities do not expect to find survivors among the 66 passengers and crewmembers aboard the airplane.