Doomed EgyptAir flight broke up midair - Report

New York -The New York Times says an EgyptAir flight that crashed into the Mediterranean in May likely broke up in midair after a fire erupted in or near the cockpit.

However it remains unclear whether the blaze was triggered by mechanical malfunction or a criminal act, said Egyptian officials.

An Egyptian-led investigative committee on Saturday last week reported that the word "fire" could be heard on EgyptAir flight 804's cockpit voice recorder before it crashed.

But the forensic and aviation officials in Cairo said that both the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, combined with the distribution and condition of recovered debris and human remains, had led them to their latest conclusion.

EgyptAir flight 804 was transporting 40 Egyptians, 15 French, two Iraqis, two Canadians and one passenger each from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Chad, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

The Airbus A320 was en route from Paris to Cairo when it disappeared from radar over the Mediterranean.

The crash followed the bombing of a Russian passenger plane over Egypt's restive Sinai Peninsula last October, killing all 224 passengers and crew.

The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility for that attack, but there has been no such claim linked to the EgyptAir crash.