Fire likely cause of 2016 EgyptAir crash: French investigation

French investigators said today a cockpit fire likely caused the 2016 EgyptAir MS804 crash that claimed the lives of 66 passengers and crew, contradicting Egyptian authorities who said explosives traces were found on the victims' remains.

France's civil aviation accident bureau, known by its French acronym BEA, said that information gleaned from the flight recorders suggested that "a fire broke out in the cockpit while the plane was at cruising altitude and the fire spread rapidly, causing the loss of control of the aircraft."