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00:01An Airbus heading from Paris to Cairo disappears over the Mediterranean.
00:07A plane with some 58 passengers on board has gone missing.
00:10It is Egypt Air Flight 804.
00:13Radar data provides the first clue.
00:15Then they started spiraling.
00:17What is going on in this cockpit?
00:20The cockpit voice recorder, found deep on the sea floor,
00:24reveals a horrifying detail.
00:27There's a fire!
00:29It has to be one of the worst things that could happen.
00:33A shocked world demands answers.
00:36We owe it to the travelling public.
00:38We owe it to the victims' families.
00:41The accident investigation stalls.
00:47Then, six years later, an Italian journalist reports an astonishing new theory.
00:52The people need to know the truth.
00:55Yeah, come on weird, yeah, come on weird.
01:21A late-night flight to Cairo cruises 37,000 feet over Greece.
01:26Radar check. Looks clear.
01:30Thank you, Gap.
01:31I like the way that sounds.
01:34Mohamed Shoker is in command of tonight's flight.
01:38With more than 6,000 hours of flying time, he's just been promoted to captain.
01:44The initial upgrade to captain, it's a real pinnacle event for an aviator.
01:49It's something you work years to attain.
01:53When's the hour's forecast? No deviation.
01:56First officer Mohamed Assem has 2,700 hours of flying time.
02:01He, too, is an ambitious pilot.
02:04Being a pilot in Egypt is one of the most prestigious jobs in northern Africa.
02:12Hi there. Could I have a cup of coffee up here?
02:15Make that two, please.
02:16Make that two, please.
02:17This was a routine flight. This was a normal crew.
02:23Both pilots were very well trained and experienced.
02:27The pilots fly for Egypt Air, a state-owned airline and the flagship carrier of Egypt.
02:35Egypt Air is one of the best airlines in Africa and one of the oldest airlines in the world.
02:42Flight 804 is two and a half hours into its journey from Paris to Cairo.
02:49The pilots are flying an Airbus A320.
02:52The A320 is one of the more modern fly-by-wire computer-enhanced airplanes.
02:57It's an extremely reliable veteran workhorse in the commercial aviation industry.
03:02On board the plane tonight are 56 international passengers, Egyptian, French, British and Canadian.
03:10The five-person cabin crew has a quieter night than usual.
03:15The plane is only half full.
03:19Hello, hello.
03:20Egypt Air flight 804.
03:22Flight level 370.
03:25Squad number 7624.
03:27Captain Shokher updates controllers on the flight's progress.
03:31Egypt Air 804, radar contact.
03:35Thank you very much.
03:37Egypt Air 804, maintain flight level 370 and current heading.
03:43Greek controllers oversee the airspace flight 804 is flying through.
03:49Maintain 370 and current heading.
03:52If Haristo, Pauli.
03:53How's the coffee?
03:57Strong, just what I need.
04:01One of the challenges when you're flying on what they call the backside of the clock,
04:04where the technical term is a circadian low,
04:09and this is when your body normally would be asleep,
04:12but you're having to press it because you're on duty.
04:17Egypt Air 804, contact Cairo Center now on 125.300.
04:24As flight 804 leaves Greek airspace,
04:27the controller hands it off to Egyptian control.
04:37But the pilots don't acknowledge the instruction.
04:41The fact that they missed the call,
04:44understandable, perhaps they were in conversation and just missed it.
04:47Egypt Air 804, contact Cairo Center, 125.300.
04:55After a second call, the controller waits for confirmation from the pilots.
04:59There's still no reply.
05:07After the second or third call, that becomes unusual.
05:12Something's wrong here.
05:13Then flight 804 disappears from radar.
05:26Cairo, have you made contact with 804?
05:29No, and we don't have them on radar either.
05:38As the minutes tick by, there's no word from the pilots.
05:42Flight 804 doesn't arrive in Cairo.
05:45Normally, crashes occur during take-off, during landing.
05:53Somebody runs into a mountain.
05:55But at 37,000 feet, not a lot of things that can go wrong.
06:00So in that particular case, that was a bit of a mystery.
06:03As day breaks, Egyptian, French, and Greek ships and aircraft
06:09search for the plane, north of the Egyptian coast.
06:15So here is the breaking news tonight.
06:17A plane that reportedly has some 58 passengers on board has gone missing.
06:22A plane with some 58 passengers on board has gone missing.
06:25It is Egypt Air Flight 804.
06:28It was en route from Paris to Cairo.
06:30Families gather at Cairo airport, hoping for news.
06:42One day after flight 804 disappears,
06:46search teams find debris from the plane.
06:50Around the same time the aircraft went down in Europe,
06:55we faced a lot of terrorist attack in France,
06:58in Belgium and in other parts.
07:01I thought that this could be a terrorist attack.
07:05The question inevitably being asked here in Paris is
07:08whether or not the plane was sabotaged.
07:16Any survivors?
07:18None have been found.
07:19An investigation into the crash of Flight 804 is launched.
07:24Sixty-six people are feared dead.
07:27And time is running out.
07:29The case falls within the jurisdiction of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority
07:33Investigation Directorate.
07:35The Bureau will do whatever it can to assist.
07:41Investigators from France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety,
07:45the BEA, assist, because the A320 is built in Europe
07:50and French nationals were on board.
07:52What do we know so far?
07:56Very little, I'm afraid.
07:58It was at cruise, and then it was gone.
08:01It's a world-wide news event,
08:05and so the pressure's on.
08:07And as an investigator,
08:08you have to say,
08:10no, we're going to do this methodically and properly.
08:12The current and tide could scatter debris
08:18hundreds of kilometers from the point of impact.
08:25But satellite images show an oil slick on the water.
08:29If you find an oil slick,
08:32there is a high likelihood that the airplane impacted the water in this area.
08:36The more you can narrow the search down,
08:38the higher the likelihood you'll find the wreckage on the seafloor.
08:41Hopefully the ROVs will find it soon.
08:47The oil slick lies on water 3,000 meters,
08:51or nearly 10,000 feet deep.
08:53Sophisticated undersea technology and expertise
08:56are needed to explore such extreme depths.
09:00Anything?
09:03BEA investigators lead an advanced dive team
09:06in the hunt for the wreckage of Flight 804.
09:09Their ships are equipped with sonar units
09:12capable of detecting the pingers on black boxes.
09:16Underwater searches actually have a good side and a bad side.
09:20They kind of slow things down
09:21and allow investigators to kind of get their act together a bit.
09:26It allows them to accept wreckage gradually
09:29rather than in a big pile,
09:31and that's a good thing.
09:32Other than that, on the bad side,
09:34it takes a long time.
09:35Did you pick up on anything unusual?
09:38As the search for the plane continues,
09:41the investigation on shore gains pace.
09:44They were passing through Greek airspace.
09:46Egypt Air 804 maintained flight level 370 and current heading.
09:52Can the Greek controller who last handled the flight
09:56provide investigators with any clues?
09:58In the early days of any investigation,
10:02you want to interview the air traffic controller.
10:05Did the crew make any ATC communications
10:08advising that they had a mechanical problem?
10:12Maintain 370 and current heading.
10:15If haris to poli.
10:17He spoke to us in Greek.
10:19He sounded very relaxed.
10:21It was all very routine.
10:24Any emergency calls?
10:25No.
10:27None.
10:33There had been a conversation
10:34between the aircraft and the Greek traffic control.
10:37Only moments before this event took place,
10:40it's completely inexplicable
10:42as to why communication would suddenly stop.
10:46Investigators don't know if there was a malfunction
10:48or something more sinister like an act of terrorism.
10:52This should fill in some gaps.
10:57Using radar and satellite data,
10:59investigators reconstruct the plane's flight path
11:02after contact was lost.
11:04It's making a left turn.
11:06Now it's making a right turn.
11:09They're dropping altitude fast.
11:11After a sudden left turn,
11:17flight 804 spirals downwards
11:19until it hits the sea.
11:22If you have a problem,
11:23you want to get towards an airport
11:25so you would not want to circle on your way down.
11:28Maybe there's problems with the controls?
11:43Maybe.
11:45But he'd have time to tell the ATC.
11:48The spiral flown by Egypt Air Flight 804
11:51raises some troubling questions.
11:53A spiral descent is what will eventually happen to an aeroplane
11:57if it's completely left alone by the pilots
11:59and not controlled by an autopilot.
12:02Did something prevent the pilots
12:04from operating the plane's controls?
12:06Investigators hang their hopes
12:08on the recovery of the black boxes from the wreckage.
12:12But what remains of the plane
12:13is somewhere 3,000 metres,
12:15or nearly 10,000 feet, underwater.
12:183,000 metres of water
12:20is a very, very challenging environment
12:22under immense pressure.
12:24A surface vessel uses hydrophones
12:26to scan the sea for a specific frequency
12:29being transmitted or pinged by the black boxes.
12:33If the transmitter is not buried
12:36in either wreckage or in the seafloor,
12:38you can pick it up from a pretty good distance out.
12:41It's a race against time.
12:43The pingers on the black boxes
12:45only have battery power to transmit for 30 days.
12:50Look, is that it?
12:54Two weeks into the search,
12:56investigators track a frequency
12:58that matches the pingers.
13:00That's got to be it.
13:03The team deploys a remotely operated submarine
13:06equipped with cameras and robotic arms
13:09to confirm the find.
13:11Technicians control the submarine
13:13through a tether that extends from the ship.
13:20OK, it should be right there.
13:27Here's the plane.
13:29They find the wreckage,
13:31but now must locate the flight recorders.
13:34They're looking for the flight data
13:35and cockpit voice recorders.
13:37Those are our key pieces of evidence
13:40in the investigative process.
13:42OK, slowly, slowly.
13:44OK, slowly.
13:45I see it.
13:48There.
13:50Using the submarine's robotic arms,
13:52the team extracts the black boxes.
13:54These things are gold to an investigator.
13:57And to be able to go down that deep
13:58and in those cold, frigid, dark waters
14:01and pick things out selectively,
14:04that's magic.
14:05Here's what they've found so far.
14:16In Egypt, investigators study the debris field,
14:20mapped from underwater footage analysis.
14:23It looks like a fairly contained area.
14:26It doesn't seem like the plane exploded.
14:28If it came apart mid-air,
14:30the debris would be scattered further apart.
14:35The destruction of the plane
14:37likely occurred on impact with the water,
14:39not while in the air.
14:42So the plane was intact
14:44through a 37,000 feet descent.
14:47That's a long time.
14:49Why didn't the pilots tell the controllers
14:51what was going on?
14:53There's a saying in aviation.
14:55During an emergency,
14:56you need to first aviate
14:58and then you navigate
14:59and lastly, you communicate.
15:02The cockpit voice recorder should help.
15:04Investigators wonder
15:08what was happening in the cockpit
15:09of Egypt Air Flight 804
15:11in the minutes before it crashed.
15:14There have been a couple of cases
15:17where pilots have deliberately done something
15:19to cause the aircraft to crash
15:21and, you know,
15:22to achieve their own suicide by it.
15:25Just ten months earlier,
15:27a pilot on a German Wings Airbus
15:29deliberately crashed into the French Alps,
15:32killing 150 people.
15:34But this didn't look like one of those.
15:37It really looked as if the aircraft
15:39was out of control.
15:41The question then is,
15:42why on earth
15:43was it from normal, regular flight
15:47suddenly out of control?
15:49We've got data.
15:51It's from Egypt Air.
15:55Airbus and Egypt Air provide them
15:57with a source of evidence.
15:59What are they saying?
16:01They were a bunch of ACARS messages.
16:04A digital data link system
16:06called ACARS
16:07sends short messages
16:08from the aircraft
16:09to ground stations
16:10via satellite.
16:11The ACARS messages
16:13are one thing
16:14that the investigators
16:15will go look at early
16:16because they know
16:17the airplane is transmitting.
16:19Is there anything unusual
16:20in those transmissions?
16:23What's that?
16:26Eleven messages in total.
16:29Egypt Air gives the investigating team
16:31a full list of transmissions
16:33from Flight 804's
16:35Aircraft Communications
16:36Addressing and Reporting System,
16:38or ACARS.
16:39It looks like
16:40the first four messages
16:41are minor maintenance messages
16:42during engine startup.
16:44But these seven messages
16:46occurred within
16:47a three-minute time span.
16:51What's that?
16:55The fault messages
16:56reveal a crew
16:57confronted by a series
16:59of warnings
16:59three hours and 17 minutes
17:01into the flight.
17:04Anti-ice the right window.
17:08It starts
17:09on the right side
17:11of the plane
17:11with the right window
17:13anti-ice system.
17:15What's going on over there?
17:17I don't see anything.
17:20The second message
17:21is from the right side
17:22windows too.
17:24The first two ACARS messages
17:26tell investigators
17:27there was a problem
17:28with the windshield panels
17:29on the right side
17:30of the cockpit.
17:31The sensor
17:33in the sliding window
17:35is primarily to determine
17:36the temperature
17:37of the window
17:38so that the heating elements
17:39can maintain
17:40the desired temperature.
17:41Check out this third warning.
17:44Smoke in a lavatory.
17:57There's smoke
17:58in the avionics bay as well.
18:00We've got trouble.
18:02Something's wrong.
18:03Critical computers
18:04are located
18:05in the avionics bay.
18:07Smoke in the avionics bay,
18:08that can get you
18:09in trouble real quick.
18:11Just two minutes
18:12after the smoke warnings,
18:13the pilots discover
18:14that their primary
18:15flight controls
18:16are failing.
18:17We've got an SEC problem.
18:21The SEC computer
18:23manages the spoilers
18:24and elevators
18:25which move up and down
18:26to change the plane's
18:27pitch and roll.
18:29If the crew knew this,
18:31there is yet another
18:32piece of evidence
18:33that there's something
18:34seriously wrong
18:35in the avionics bay.
18:38If they are losing
18:39flight controls,
18:40that could explain
18:41the slow spiraling descent.
18:44Let this move
18:45to the backup.
18:47The A320 flight control system
18:49was designed
18:50so that if one system failed,
18:52the backup system
18:53would still operate.
18:55If one fails,
18:56fails totally,
18:57the other system
18:58will give them
18:59enough control
19:00to get the aircraft
19:01back to base.
19:01There aren't any warnings
19:04on the other
19:04flight control computers.
19:07The ACARS messages
19:08tell investigators
19:09Flight 804
19:11was in serious trouble
19:12in the final minutes
19:13before it crashed,
19:14all pointing to one thing.
19:19There's a fire
19:20at the front of the plane.
19:23There's nothing
19:24that could happen
19:26on an airplane
19:27that is more chilling
19:29and more dangerous
19:30than fire on board
19:32because fires
19:33can spread
19:34very rapidly
19:36and they can do
19:37tremendous damage
19:38to control systems.
19:40After analyzing
19:42the ACARS warnings,
19:43the investigators grapple
19:45with the devastating
19:46implications
19:46of the discovery.
19:48Maybe they're too busy
19:49fighting the fire
19:49to call air traffic control.
19:51You must get the fire
19:55out quickly,
19:56you just cannot
19:57allow it to spread.
19:59Now investigators
20:00face more difficult questions.
20:02The investigators
20:03want to discover
20:05exactly where it started.
20:07The whole reason
20:08for the investigation
20:08is to prevent
20:09this happening again.
20:15All right,
20:15let's have a listen.
20:16Investigators
20:19turned to the CVR
20:20in the hopes
20:21it might reveal
20:22more about the fire
20:23on board.
20:25Egypt 804,
20:26maintain flight level
20:27370
20:28and current heading.
20:29Maintain 370
20:31and current heading.
20:33The BEA helped
20:34the Egyptians
20:35by downloading the data
20:37but then the BEA
20:39had to hand
20:40the cockpit voice recorder
20:41over to the Egyptians.
20:44There's a fire!
20:46The crew's statement
20:50of the word fire
20:51indicates that
20:53they have evidence,
20:55hard evidence,
20:56that there is
20:57a real-time fire
20:59that they need
20:59to contend with.
21:04After listening
21:05to the CVR,
21:07the Egyptian investigators
21:08report their findings
21:09to France's
21:10Bureau of Investigation
21:12and Analysis
21:12or BEA.
21:15I'm afraid
21:15our suspicions
21:16have been confirmed.
21:18The pilots are
21:19on the recording
21:19saying there's
21:20a fire on board.
21:22Any idea
21:22where it started?
21:24Reading,
21:24where's it coming from?
21:25I don't know.
21:28No,
21:29there's no indications.
21:31Well,
21:32we'll have to find
21:33out another way.
21:35When are you
21:35coming back?
21:37I'm sorry,
21:38I need to stay
21:39in Cairo.
21:40Why was there fire?
21:42The crew
21:42states the word fire.
21:44Why?
21:45Where?
21:48Seven months
21:49into the international
21:50investigation
21:51aided by the BEA,
21:53the Egyptian government
21:54suddenly releases
21:55a statement
21:56to the media.
21:59The Egyptians
22:00believed
22:01that this was
22:01some form of
22:02sabotage
22:03involving an explosive.
22:14The Egyptian government
22:15believes an act
22:16of terrorism
22:17may have brought down
22:18Egypt Air Flight 804.
22:20By law,
22:21the investigation
22:21is handed over
22:22to Egypt's
22:23state prosecutor.
22:25It's out of my hands.
22:26You must understand.
22:27The Egyptian authorities
22:30advanced the theory
22:33that there was
22:33an explosion on board.
22:36That is certainly
22:37something to be considered,
22:39but you provide
22:40the evidence
22:40for everyone to see.
22:43Can we see...
22:44Your forensic report.
22:46The case is with
22:47state investigators now.
22:48I'm sorry.
22:50There's too much
22:51room for error here.
22:53Are you sure?
22:54It's not a false positive.
22:56The tests are conclusive.
22:57The BEA
22:58and Airbus
22:59tried their best
23:00to say,
23:00hey,
23:00we're here to help,
23:01we're here to help,
23:02we're here to help,
23:03and they were ignored.
23:05Okay.
23:06To say,
23:07well,
23:08we have evidence
23:09and we're not
23:10going to discuss it
23:11any further
23:12flies in the face
23:13of the International
23:15Civil Aviation
23:16Organization
23:16agreements
23:17that have been made
23:19by countries worldwide.
23:24In Milan,
23:26Italy,
23:26aviation journalist
23:28Leo Berberi
23:29follows the case
23:30closely.
23:31The Egyptian
23:32investigators
23:33started talking
23:33about an explosion
23:34aboard as a result
23:36of a terrorist attack,
23:37and when asked
23:38to provide proof,
23:40they didn't provide
23:41any,
23:42and that was
23:43welcomed
23:44with a lot of
23:44skepticism
23:45from the aviation
23:46community.
23:46Are there
23:49chemical residue
23:50that is consistent
23:52with an explosive?
23:54If it had been
23:55a bomb,
23:56nobody claimed
23:57responsibility.
23:59That makes
24:00the entire
24:01exercise of bombing
24:02an aircraft
24:03pretty damnly useless.
24:04our own forensics
24:09are in.
24:12Air accident
24:13investigators
24:13from France's
24:14BEA
24:15independently
24:16look into
24:17the terrorism
24:17theory.
24:20They test
24:22materials
24:22from the crash
24:23for explosive
24:24residue.
24:25Negative
24:26for traces
24:27of explosive.
24:28They can't
24:29find any
24:30evidence
24:30to support
24:31the bomb
24:32theory.
24:33The information
24:34they had
24:35denied
24:35what the Egyptians
24:36were suddenly
24:37claiming.
24:40There's got
24:40to be a
24:41connection here.
24:43Unconvinced
24:43by the Egyptian
24:44government's
24:45bomb theory,
24:46BEA investigators
24:47hunt for the
24:48source of a fire
24:49they're certain
24:50ripped through
24:50Flight 804.
24:53There's a fire!
24:55The right
24:55window
24:56heating
24:57element
24:58is first.
25:00They look
25:00for a pattern
25:01to the ACAR's
25:02messages
25:02to explain
25:03the cause
25:03of the fire.
25:04There has
25:04to be
25:05something
25:05in common
25:05and that's
25:07the big
25:07question.
25:08What could
25:09trigger this?
25:10Then smoke
25:11in the
25:12lavatory
25:12and avionics
25:14bay.
25:17It's
25:18moving
25:19from front
25:20to back.
25:22The order
25:22matters in
25:23that you
25:23may be
25:24able to
25:24say the
25:25fire is
25:26increasing
25:26it's
25:27also
25:28propagating
25:28it's
25:28moving
25:29so it's
25:30affecting
25:30different
25:31parts
25:31of the
25:31airplane.
25:33The last
25:34warning the
25:34ACAR system
25:35processed had
25:36to do with
25:36a flight
25:36control
25:37problem.
25:37That was
25:38a very
25:38serious
25:39one.
25:40Everything
25:40seemed to
25:40kind of
25:41center in
25:41on the
25:43avionics
25:43compartment.
25:45The
25:46avionics
25:46bay is
25:47packed
25:47with
25:47wiring.
25:49Maybe
25:50some
25:50wires
25:51arced
25:52and
25:52ignited.
25:54The
25:55A320,
25:55like a lot
25:56of modern
25:56jets,
25:57is a
25:58fly-by-wire
25:58airplane.
25:59So the
25:59computers
26:00actually
26:01control
26:01the
26:02flight
26:02control
26:03position.
26:04If you
26:05were to
26:05lose all
26:06electricity
26:06in the
26:07airplane,
26:08maintaining
26:09control
26:09becomes
26:10very,
26:11very
26:11challenging.
26:14My
26:14belief
26:15was that
26:16this was
26:17an
26:18avionics
26:18bay fire.
26:19The
26:20smoke
26:20penetrated
26:21probably
26:22via the
26:22floor
26:23panels,
26:24penetrated
26:25into the
26:26forward
26:26lavatory.
26:27Did
26:28faulty
26:28wiring in
26:29the
26:29avionics
26:30bay
26:30ignite a
26:31fire
26:31on board?
26:33Sounds
26:34like
26:34Swissair
26:34111.
26:38On
26:39Swissair
26:39111,
26:40arcing in
26:41the
26:41wiring of
26:42the
26:42plane's
26:42entertainment
26:43system was
26:43identified as
26:44the source
26:45of a
26:45tragic
26:45on-board
26:46fire that
26:46killed
26:47229
26:48people.
26:49As soon
26:50as I
26:50heard about
26:51the
26:51ACARS
26:52messages
26:52about
26:53smoke
26:53in the
26:54avionics
26:55bay,
26:56I
26:56immediately
26:57thought of
26:57Swissair
26:58111.
27:01Did an
27:02electrical
27:02fire start
27:03in the
27:03avionics
27:04bay on
27:05board
27:05Egyptair
27:05flight
27:06804?
27:07A
27:07fire can
27:08happen
27:08on board
27:09any
27:10aircraft.
27:12They can
27:12be caused
27:13by a
27:13variety of
27:14things,
27:14but very
27:15often they're
27:15triggered by
27:16some kind
27:16of an
27:17electrical
27:17fault.
27:18If there
27:18was faulty
27:19wiring on
27:20an A320 that
27:21crashed into
27:22the Mediterranean,
27:23it would have
27:23grave repercussions.
27:25If that were
27:26the cause,
27:27you can inspect
27:28the rest of the
27:29fleet and make
27:30sure that the
27:30same chafing is
27:31not happening in
27:32the rest of
27:32fleet.
27:32But without
27:35the assistance
27:35of the
27:36Egyptian Civil
27:36Aviation Ministry,
27:38there's no way
27:39to determine
27:39the cause of
27:40the fire.
27:41The BEA's
27:42investigation stalls
27:43due to lack
27:44of evidence.
27:47It's really
27:48vital to have
27:49a final report
27:50because that's
27:52the only way
27:53to improve
27:54aviation,
27:54to avoid
27:55making the
27:56same mistakes.
27:56six years
28:05after the
28:05crash of
28:06flight 804,
28:07there's still
28:08no official
28:09report nor
28:10conclusion to
28:11Egypt's
28:11criminal
28:12investigation.
28:23Pronto.
28:24In March
28:26of 2022,
28:27aviation
28:28journalist
28:28Leo Berberi
28:29gets a huge
28:30scoop.
28:31After years
28:32that I was
28:33harassing people
28:35involved directly
28:36in the
28:36investigation,
28:37someone in
28:39France had
28:40some news for
28:41me about that
28:42flight.
28:43I'll meet
28:43you there.
28:50Aviation
28:51journalist
28:51Leo Berberi
28:52of Corriere
28:53de la Sera
28:54meets a
28:55trusted source
28:55who offers
28:56another
28:56explanation
28:57for the
28:57crash of
28:58Egypt Air
28:59flight 804.
29:01We met
29:02and the
29:03person handed
29:04me the
29:05document.
29:14Berberi
29:15learns from
29:16the
29:16confidential
29:16source
29:17details of
29:18an investigation
29:19launched by
29:19the French
29:20judiciary,
29:21staffed with
29:21a team of
29:22technical experts,
29:23appointed to
29:24analyze the
29:25available evidence.
29:26The French
29:27judiciary involved
29:28five experts in
29:30aviation and in
29:31accidents, probably
29:32some of the best in
29:34the world, and
29:35handed them all the
29:36documents, all the
29:38data they had
29:38about that flight.
29:42The aim is to
29:44determine if the
29:45accident constituted
29:46involuntary manslaughter.
29:48The French government
29:49started the investigation
29:51in Paris because there
29:53were French citizens
29:55among the victims
29:56on that flight.
29:58Berberi confirms the
29:59report with the
30:00French judicial
30:01investigation, who
30:02had secured copies of
30:03the cockpit voice
30:04recorder.
30:05All we were told is the
30:11pilots reported a
30:11fire but didn't
30:12mention its
30:12location.
30:13Let's see what
30:14they said.
30:15The investigators
30:16began their
30:16analysis by looking
30:18for answers to
30:18the main
30:19question.
30:20How did a
30:21fire start on
30:22flight 804?
30:24We had a lot
30:24of questions, a
30:26lot of theories, but
30:27no answers.
30:28The word
30:29fire that is on
30:31the voice
30:31recorder indicates
30:32this was something
30:33other than an
30:34explosion.
30:38Tired?
30:39I'm okay.
30:44Stop.
30:46Do you hear
30:47that?
30:48Play it again.
30:51Tired?
30:53I'm okay.
30:59Looks like
30:59there's something
31:00on channel 3.
31:01Can you
31:02isolate it?
31:03Visually?
31:03The cockpit
31:05voice recorders
31:06not only can
31:06record voices,
31:08but they
31:09record noises
31:10in the cockpit,
31:10which can tell
31:11us another
31:12story, too.
31:14Investigators
31:15isolate the
31:15channels.
31:21On one of the
31:22channels, they
31:23hear something
31:24unusual.
31:26What's that
31:26sound?
31:27sound?
31:28They worked on
31:29audio, changing
31:31the sound
31:32spectrum to
31:34reduce the
31:34low frequencies.
31:36This could
31:37allow them to
31:38hear clearly
31:39something coming
31:41from one of the
31:42microphones of the
31:43pilots.
31:44It's like
31:45whispering sound.
31:49Can you pull the
31:50library of sounds?
31:52Investigators compare
31:53the sound to similar
31:54sounds in a database
31:55of cockpit noises.
31:56Not this one.
32:00Not that one
32:00either.
32:02Play that one.
32:06No, that's not it.
32:07What about this one?
32:08That's it.
32:15It's the oxygen
32:16mask.
32:25Was oxygen
32:26leaking from a
32:27mask in the
32:28cockpit?
32:31Says here that if
32:32not stowed properly,
32:33it's going to
32:34leak.
32:38Now, the closest
32:42oxygen mask to
32:43channel three is
32:44this one, right
32:46behind first
32:47officer's seat.
32:49Hello, hello.
32:51Egypt Air 804,
32:53flight level
32:54370, squawk number
32:567624.
32:59The implication of
33:00the discovery is
33:01immediately clear.
33:03That's fuel for the
33:05fire.
33:05In an oxygen
33:07enriched environment,
33:08the potential for
33:10ignition goes up and
33:12the severity of the
33:13ensuing fire post
33:14ignition goes up.
33:17An oxygen leak can
33:18feed a fire, but it
33:20can't ignite one.
33:22Investigators wonder
33:23what could have
33:24started the fire.
33:25I need reports from
33:26cases with in-flight
33:27fires.
33:28Are there other
33:29cases where a
33:30similar fire brought
33:31a plane down?
33:32One of the early
33:33things you do is,
33:34has the fleet seen
33:35this before, or
33:36anything similar to
33:37it?
33:38Have there been
33:38flight deck fires?
33:40And there have.
33:42In June 1983, an
33:44onboard fire ripped
33:45through an Air Canada
33:46DC-9 and forced the
33:48pilots to make a
33:49harrowing emergency
33:50landing.
33:52American
33:53investigators theorized
33:54that a lit cigarette
33:55in the lavatory was
33:56one of the possible
33:57causes.
33:57perhaps the pilots
34:04were smoking.
34:06Smoking regulations
34:07for pilots in Egypt,
34:08what are they?
34:10Smoking has been
34:11banned on most
34:12airliners around the
34:13world for years.
34:17Unbelievable.
34:21Egypt Air did not
34:22allow smoking on
34:23board, except in the
34:25cockpit.
34:25It was allowed in
34:272016 to smoke in
34:30the Egypt Air's
34:31cockpits with the
34:32authorization of the
34:33captain.
34:40With no ban on
34:42smoking for pilots at
34:43Egypt Air in 2016,
34:45French judicial
34:46investigators put
34:47forth a theory that
34:48focuses on the
34:49pilots of Flight
34:50804.
34:50people.
34:52Listen to this.
34:54The ashtrays were
34:55replaced before the
34:56accident.
34:58The Egyptian
34:59Pilots Association
35:00insists that the
35:01pilots were not
35:02smokers.
35:04According to the
35:06Egyptian authorities
35:07and the Egyptian
35:08media, the pilots
35:10weren't smokers.
35:11But according to
35:13other pilots that I
35:15interviewed, they
35:15were smokers.
35:17Studying maintenance
35:18reports for the
35:19aircraft, investigation
35:20indicators make an
35:21important discovery.
35:22It's not just the
35:23ashtrays that were
35:24changed.
35:25They replaced the
35:26FO's oxygen mask.
35:28And it looks like it
35:29was left in
35:30emergency mode.
35:31This is just what we
35:33need.
35:34The first officer's
35:35oxygen mask was
35:36changed three days
35:38before the accident.
35:40According to the
35:41experts, the oxygen
35:43mask was set
35:44improperly on an
35:45emergency mode.
35:46When an oxygen mask is
35:48left in emergency mode,
35:50it feeds oxygen at a
35:51higher pressure,
35:52releasing more oxygen
35:53than when it's in
35:54normal mode.
35:56I can see where it
35:57could, depending on
35:59the position, initiate
36:00flow out of the hose
36:02into the mask and then
36:03into the environment.
36:05Aren't the pilots
36:05supposed to check the
36:06oxygen mask at the
36:07start of each day?
36:09Pilots are supposed to
36:10check that setting
36:11unless someone else
36:13on the first flight
36:15of that day has
36:16already done that.
36:18But that doesn't mean
36:19that you can do that
36:20again.
36:22French judicial
36:23investigators speculate
36:24that the leaking
36:25oxygen saturated the
36:27cockpit air, increasing
36:28the potential for a
36:29sudden fire.
36:34The French report
36:35concluded that the
36:36aircraft went down
36:37because there was
36:38something, most
36:41probably a cigarette,
36:42that with the
36:43contribution of the
36:44oxygen leaking from
36:46the first officer's
36:47mask, started a fire
36:48that wasn't stopped
36:50or couldn't be
36:51stopped.
36:53Leo Berberi breaks
36:54the story that the
36:55French judicial
36:56inquiry has a very
36:57different theory from
36:59either the Egyptian
36:59government or France's
37:01Bureau of Investigation
37:02and Analysis for
37:03Civil Aviation Safety.
37:05It's a theory
37:06questioned by many
37:07experts.
37:07Just imagining that
37:09this mask is filling
37:11the cockpit with a
37:12high percentage of
37:14oxygen is ridiculous
37:15because the feed,
37:16even when it's at
37:17full blast, is
37:19intended to be enough
37:20feed to the pilot's
37:22face like this in the
37:23cockpit.
37:24That would have been
37:25minimal.
37:27Let's move to the
37:28backup.
37:29To me, frankly, this
37:31is a bit of a stretch.
37:32Officially, the
37:33ignition source for the
37:35onboard fire remains an
37:36open question.
37:37Families of those lost
37:39in the tragedy still
37:40have no firm answers.
37:44The Egyptians
37:45maintained that this
37:46was an act of
37:47terrorism.
37:50Two alternate
37:51explanations remain on
37:52the table.
37:53The cigarette theory
37:54and the faulty wiring
38:00theory.
38:03What caused flight 804 to
38:05crash remains a
38:06mystery.
38:07But one fact is
38:09clear.
38:10Whatever happened
38:11could happen again.
38:13It's absolutely vital
38:15that we find out what
38:18caused the fire on this
38:19airplane.
38:20Aviation does not do
38:23well with mysteries.
38:24We never have.
38:26Reading, where's it
38:27coming from?
38:27I don't know.
38:30I'm taking us down.
38:32The Egyptian
38:33government has since
38:34banned smoking in the
38:35cockpit.
38:35As of 2022, there
38:37still isn't an
38:38official report.
38:40I think we know that
38:42there's a lot more
38:43information that has
38:45been gathered about
38:46flight 804 than has
38:48been released.
38:50An incomplete
38:50investigation leaves
38:52behind an incomplete
38:53story.
38:54Multiple unanswered
38:55questions tarnish the
38:57case.
38:59What's that?
39:01But there's agreement
39:02that the crisis began
39:03suddenly, escalated
39:05rapidly and forced the
39:06pilots to act fast.
39:09While the plane is
39:10cruising at 37,000 feet,
39:12first signs of a crisis
39:13become apparent.
39:14Things had started
39:15going wrong.
39:16There's a fire!
39:18You need to get the
39:19airplane on the ground
39:20now.
39:21Too many things are
39:22failing.
39:23Too many warnings are
39:24coming up.
39:24It's spreading.
39:25Where's it coming from?
39:26I don't know.
39:31The warnings would have
39:32spurred the pilots into
39:33action, but the
39:34situation worsened.
39:36It's getting increasingly
39:38smoky.
39:39They're going to be
39:40increasingly having
39:41trouble with breathing.
39:43Blower override.
39:44The pilots would have
39:49followed the procedures
39:50for smoke in the
39:51cockpit in an attempt to
39:53isolate the source of
39:54the smoke.
39:56Electrical bus tie auto.
39:59The electrical emergency
40:04configuration would have
40:05shut down most of the
40:06aircraft's systems,
40:08leaving the pilots with
40:09only some basic controls
40:10to bring the plane down.
40:12This is what you do if
40:13there's a fire.
40:14It has been a proven
40:16safeguard in airliners for
40:19quite a long time.
40:22It seems the fire grew.
40:26I'm taking us down.
40:32And spread into the
40:34passenger cabin.
40:37There is a fire extinguisher
40:39in the flight deck.
40:40So where's the fire?
40:42What's the intensity of the
40:43fire?
40:44Where's it progressing?
40:45Every second the fire
40:47burns, the more damage
40:48the plane sustains.
40:50The situation in the
40:52flight deck would be
40:54chaos because it's
40:58becoming increasingly
40:59difficult for the pilots
41:01to know what they are
41:03fighting against.
41:04The cockpit of flight 804 was
41:19likely engulfed in flames as the
41:21pilots tried to save their
41:22plane.
41:25How exactly the pilots tried to
41:27fight back the fire is another
41:29one of flight 804's unsolved
41:31mysteries.
41:31If nobody knows about what went
41:35wrong in a particular accident,
41:37how can they change their own
41:39programs?
41:39How can they devise their
41:41aircraft better?
41:46If mistakes were made by Egypt Air
41:48or by Airbus, they remain
41:51unpublicized.
41:52Airbus has not made any changes to
41:59the design of the A320 as a result
42:02of this accident.
42:03It's been a large number of years
42:05since this tragedy happened, and we
42:08still don't know why.
42:10We owe it to the traveling public,
42:12we owe it to crew members, we owe it
42:14to the victims' families.