1st LD: Flight data recorder of crashed Egyptian plane repaired

Egyptian investigators said Tuesday that the flight data recorder of EgyptAir flight MS804 that plunged into the Mediterranean last month had been "successfully repaired."

"The repair process was conducted at the labs of the French aircraft investigating bureau, where accurate tests for the board were carried out to make sure that the aircraft data file is on the recorder," the investigators said in a statement.

The repair process was carried out by experts from the French investigation bureau and was witnessed by the technical investigation committee immediately after their arrival in Paris, it added.

The investigators also said that the repair of the doomed plane's cockpit voice recorder would commence "within hours."

EgyptAir flight MS804 spiralled down into the Mediterranean early on May 19 on its way from Paris to Cairo, killing all 66 people on board.

Last week, the investigation committee said the hired vessel, Lethbridge John, located several spots of the wreckage of the doomed plane in the Mediterranean, noting it was provided by the first images of the wreckage from one of the spotted sites.

A day later, the committee said the vessel found the crashed jet's CVR yet it was damaged.

The recorders arrived in Paris from Cairo on Monday to remove salt deposits. They will be sent back to a laboratory in Cairo for data analysis at the Central Department for Aviation Accidents of the Ministry of Civil Aviation of Egypt, according to an earlier statement from the committee. Endit