Fire from oxygen mask likely caused Egyptair disaster: Experts

Fire from oxygen mask likely caused Egyptair disaster: Experts

PARIS: A 2016 EgyptAir crash that killed 66 people in the Mediterranean was likely caused by a fire that started from a leaky oxygen mask in the cockpit, according to the conclusions of French experts seen by AFP Thursday. The flight crew fled the fire and appear to have been unable to find a fire extinguisher — leading to the fatal crash a few minutes later. “Oxygen leaking from the co-pilot’s emergency oxygen mask is seen as the decisive element in causing the fire,” the five experts wrote in their 134-page report, delivered to the Paris court of appeal in March and revealed Wednesday by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. EgyptAir flight MS804 suddenly disappeared from radar screens on May 19, 2016 on its way to Cairo from Paris. Everybody on board died. Egypt’s aviation minister had initially said a terrorist attack, rather than lack of maintenance, was more likely to have brought down the plane. France’s aviation safety agency, however, said the aircraft transmitted automated messages indicating smoke in the cabin and a fault in the flight control unit minutes before losing contact. The latest report does not determine with certainty what could have ignited the leaking oxygen. An