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Egyptair Flight MS804 Data Recorder Is Recovered

The second “black box” has been retrieved from the wreckage of Egyptair Flight MS804 which crashed in the Mediterranean Sea, investigators said.
Image: SU-GCC EgyptAir
This is a April 2014 image of an EgyptAir Airbus A320 with the registration SU-GCC taking off from Istanbul Atat?rk Airport, Turkey. Egyptian aviation officials said on Thursday May 19, 2016 that an EgyptAir flight MS804 with the registration SU-GCC, travelling from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board has crashed. The officials say the search is now underway for the debris.Ahmet Akin Diler / AP file
By Charlene Gubash and Alastair Jamieson

CAIRO, Egypt — The second “black box” has been retrieved from the wreckage of crashed Egyptair Flight MS804, investigators said Friday.

The Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said in a statement that the plane's flight data recorder was recovered and is being taken to the coastal city of Alexandria where it will be handed over to experts for analysis.

"The analysis of data may take several weeks," the committee said.

The announcement came a day after the doomed jet’s cockpit voice recorder was recovered.

Image: EGYPT-FRANCE-AIRLINE
A file photo of the research vessel John Lethbridge which has located and recovered the crashed Egyptair jet's black boxes.F.BASSEMAYOUSSE / AFP - Getty Images

The devices could yield vital clues about why the Airbus A320 crashed May 19 on route from Paris to Cairo with 66 people aboard.

The wreckage was located by search vessels Wednesday between the Greek island of Crete and the Egyptian coast.

Earlier this week, the Egyptian committee said it had received military radar images confirming that the jet deviated from its planned course and turned a full circle before disappearing. That contradicted previous statements that it disappeared off radar at a cruising altitude of about 37,000 feet.

Charlene Gubash

Charlene Gubash is an NBC News producer based in Cairo. Gubash, a native Minnesotan, has lived and worked in the Egyptian capital since 1985.

Alastair Jamieson

Alastair Jamieson is a London-based reporter, editor and homepage producer for NBC News.