Cockpit voice recorder memory from EgyptAir crash intact, investigators say

Egyptian investigators said on Saturday that the memory chips in the cockpit voice recorder of the ill fated EgyptAir flight 804 are intact.

BREAKING: Egypt: memory chips from cockpit voice recorder of crashed EgyptAir jet are intact, allowing access to recordings.

— The Associated Press (@AP) July 2, 2016

In a statement, Egyptian ministry of aviation said that though the memory chips are intact, some components used to communicate were damaged and needed to be replaced by French experts in Paris.

This will enable experts reconstruct key conversations and perhaps help determine the exact cause of the crash.

The news comes two days after investigators said that that there was smoke on board the plane, before the it went down , according to a black box recording from the doomed flight.

Though some of the wreckage has been recovered, the bulk of it is believed to be at a depth of about 9,800 feet and deep ocean search teams are still working to find and recover human remains.

French authorities opened a manslaughter inquiry on Monday, but said there is not evidence so far to link the crash to terrorism.

The EgyptAir plane plummeted 38,000 feet into the Mediterranean on May 19, while en route from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board.