EgyptAir plane 'broke up in midair'

The officials told the US paper on condition of anonymity that it remained unclear whether the fire on board was triggered by mechanical malfunction or a criminal act.

But it appeared the blaze - thought to be near or inside the cockpit - was sufficient to cause the Airbus A320 to break up in midair, they said.

EgyptAir flight 804, crashed into the Mediterranean during a flight from Paris to Cairo on May 19, killing all 66 people on board.

The New York Times said evidence from the plane's black boxes, along with analysis of the debris and human remains pointed to disintegration in the air, not when the jet impacted the sea.

Other air-accident experts previously told the paper that a lack of large pieces of debris, the scattering of the wreckage over a relatively large distance, and the lack of intact human remains also pointed to a midair break-up.

Explosion not confirmed

Earlier analysis of the plane's flight data recorder showed there had been smoke in the lavatory and avionics bay, while recovered wreckage from the jet's front section showed signs of high temperature damage and soot.

The word "fire" was heard on the cockpit voice recorder and smoke alarms had sounded on board. Other sounds also pointed to an attempt to put out a blaze before the jet crashed, committee sources had told the Reuters news agency.

The newest evidence also appeared to rule out pilot suicide, the New York Times reported, with officials describing a relaxed mood in the cockpit just before the plane veered off course.

The aircraft made a 90-degree left turn followed by a 360-degree turn to the right before plummeting from 11,300 meters (37,000 feet) into the sea. No distress call was received.

Flight 804 was carrying 40 Egyptians, 15 French people, two Iraqis, two Canadians and one passenger each from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

The crash came almost six months after a Russian passenger jet broke up in midair shortly after take-off from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.

The self-declared "Islamic State" (IS) group claimed responsibility for that attack, but there has been no such claim linked to the EgyptAir disaster.

Egyptair has offered $25,000 compensation payments to the families of those killed in the crash, separate from expected insurance company claims.

mm/rc (AFP, Reuters)