Second EgyptAir MS804 black box recovered

CAIRO, June 17 (UPI) -- The flight data recorder from EgyptAir Flight MS804, which disappeared while flying May 19 from Paris to Cairo with 66 people on board, was recovered, authorities said Friday.

The device showed signs of damage but its memory unit was recovered, the Egyptian Civil Aviation Investigation Committee announced Friday, noting it was "retrieved in several pieces."

Discovery and salvage of the plane's cockpit voice recorder, which was also damaged, occurred Wednesday and was announced Thursday. The two recorders could aid investigators in understanding what caused the plane, an Airbus A320, to crash into the Mediterranean Sea.

Both recorders are typically installed in an aircraft's tail.

Two French vessels searched for the flight recorders, and located them days before the recorders' batteries were expected to fully discharge.

The cause of the crash remains unknown and while it may have been the victim of a terrorist attack, no organization has claimed responsibility. Messages sent by the plane indicate its smoke detectors were activated moments before the plane's signal was lost. Greek investigators say it veered 90 degrees before turning another 360 degrees in mid-air; it then quickly lost altitude before it vanished from air traffic controllers' radar screens.