Smoke detected on EgyptAir plane before crash, investigators say; images of debris revealed

Reporting from Cairo — Automatic messages sent from EgyptAir Flight 804 indicated there was smoke in the cabin shortly before the aircraft lost contact with air traffic controllers and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, French investigators said Saturday.

The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis, France’s civil aviation investigative body, said it was premature to determine the meaning of the messages, but experts said the finding was consistent with speculation among U.S. and Egyptian officials that a bomb could have exploded on board.

A bureau spokesman said it was “too early to interpret and understand the causes of the accident until we recover the wreckage and black boxes,” according to Agence France-Presse.

What we know about the people who were on EgyptAir Flight 804>>

Egyptian military forces recovered human remains and debris from the Mediterranean on Friday, roughly 180 miles north of the Egyptian city of Alexandria, the first clues to emerge in the crash that occurred Thursday morning.

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A handout picture made available by the Egyptian Defense Ministry shows a life jacket from EgyptAir Flight 804.  (Egyptian Defense Ministry / EPA)

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A photo on the official Facebook page of the Egyptian military spokesperson reportedly shows EgyptAir crash debris.  (AFP/Getty Images)

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A photo on the official Facebook page of the Egyptian military spokesperson reportedly shows EgyptAir crash debris.  (AFP/Getty Images)

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An image reportedly of debris from the EgyptAir crash posted on an official Egyptian military Facebook page.  (AFP / Getty Images)

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A relative of Salah Abu Laban, Sahar Qouidar, Ghassan Abu Laban and Reem al-Sebaei, all victims of EgyptAir Flight 804, grieves following prayers for the dead, at al Thawrah Mosque in Cairo.  (Amr Nabil / Associated Press)

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Relatives and friends of passengers of the EgyptAir plane that crashed in the Mediterranean pray at Abou Bakr el-Sedek mosque in Cairo.  (Mohamed Meteab / AFP/Getty Images)

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An image from an Egyptian Defense Ministry video shows Egyptian pilots searching the Mediterranean Sea for wreckage of Flight 804.  (AFP/Getty Images)

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In an image from an Egyptian Defense Ministry video, the Egyptian military searches the Mediterranean for wreckage of the plane that crashed Thursday.  (Egyptian Defense Ministry / AFP/Getty Images )

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A radar aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force took part in the search for EgyptAir Flight 804.  (Thanassis Stavrakis / Associated Press)

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A relative of a passenger who was flying aboard an EgyptAir plane that crashed en route from Paris to Cairo cries as family members are transported to a gathering point at Cairo International Airport on May 19.  (Khaled Desouki / AFP/Getty Images)

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An unidentified employee of EgyptAir speaks to journalists at Charles De Gaulle Airport on May 19, after one of the airline’s jets crashed as it traveled from Paris to Cairo.  (Thomas Samson / AFP/Getty Images)

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A relative of a passenger on EgyptAir Flight 804 grieves at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris.  (Michel Euler / Associated Press)

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French officers stand guard at the entrance of the Mercure Hotel next to Charles de Gaulle airport, where relatives of the passengers are gathering near Paris.  (Etienne Laurent / EPA)

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Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengersgather at Cairo Airport.  (Khaled Elfiqi / EPA)

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Relatives of missing EgyptAir passengers gather at Cairo Airport.  (Osama Sayed / EPA)

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Relatives of passengers aboard EgyptAir Flight 804 grieve as they leave the in-flight service building at Cairo International Airport.  (Amr Nabil / Associated Press)

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A French member of the border police stands guard at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport.  (Etienne Laurent / EPA)

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An EgyptAir Airbus A320 is seen at Istanbul Airport in Turkey in May.  (Christoph Schmidt / EPA )

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Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail talks to reporters at Cairo International Airport after the crash.  (Selman Elotefy / Associated Press)

The Egyptian military posted the first pictures of the wreckage Saturday on its official Facebook page.Some of the photos appeared to show shreds of seat cushions with their foam padding exposed, the likeliest items to float to the surface. Another picture showed a yellow life jacket that had not been inflated.

Aviation Herald, an online publication, first reported Friday that alert messages transmitted from the aircraft indicated smoke in the lavatory near the cockpit and in the area of the plane housing the avionics, the electronic systems that help the jet to fly.

The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System messages, or ACARS, are short messages transmitted automatically by the aircraft during flight. The messages indicating smoke were sent shortly before the aircraft lost contact with Greek air traffic controllers at 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

Investigators say they suspect terrorism, not a mechanical failure, caused the plane to make a sharp left turn at 37,000 feet before plummeting into the sea shortly after crossing into Egyptian airspace.

The Airbus A320 jet, which left Paris on Wednesday night en route to Cairo, was carrying 56 passengers, seven crew members and three airline security officers, all of whom are presumed dead.

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UPDATES:

5:33 a.m.: Updated with Egyptian military posting photos reportedly of crash debris.

1:53 a.m.: Updated with new details throughout.

This article was first posted at 1:31 a.m.