EgyptAir Flight Made Three Emergency Landings Before Crash

As investigators get closer to recovering the black boxes from EgyptAir MS804, French television channel France 3 reports that the plane made at least three emergency landings in the 24 hours before it crashed.

French media report that the plane’s Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System first noted irregularities shortly after the plane took off on May 18. The next day it crashed into the Mediterranean, killing all 66 passengers and crew on board and raising fears that it was caused by another terrorist attack in Europe, though no group claimed responsibility.

Each of the three alerts that day led to a “technical audit,” but each time nothing was found to be amiss and the plane was permitted to take off, flying a loop around Asmara, Cairo, Tunis, and Paris.

EgyptAir chairman Safwat Musallam, speaking to reporters at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual meeting in Dublin, dismissed the claims.