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The Newest Evidence About EgyptAir Flight 804

by Lauren Holter

A European Space Agency (ESA) satellite found what it believes is an oil slick near the location EgyptAir Flight 804 went missing over the Mediterranean Sea, according to the Associated Press. Both Egyptian and U.S. officials believe terrorism was more likely the cause of the crash than a mechanical failure. Specifically, two U.S. officials told CNN they suspected a bomb was the culprit. However, the official cause is still unknown. If the discovered oil slick came from the downed plane, it could help explain exactly what happened.

Update: EgyptAir officials said Friday that more wreckage from the plane was discovered, including body parts, luggage, and seats. BBC also reports that the same plane made an emergency stop at the Cairo airport in June 2013.

According to the ESA, a 1.2-mile-long slick showed up on the satellite 25 miles southeast of Flight 804's last known location. The information was passed on to authorities investigating, but the oil slick could be unrelated to the crash. Another satellite will pass by the same site this weekend and its images will, hopefully, provide more insight into the slick's origins. In the meantime, ESA experts are closely examining the initial satellite data for more oil in the water or any further clues about the plane's wreckage.

EgyptAir announced that debris from the flight headed from Paris to Cairo was found Thursday near the Greek island of Karpathos, but later retracted its statements when the airline’s vice president Ahmed Adel said the debris "is not our aircraft." Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos said Friday that a body part, two plane seats, and suitcases were found in the Mediterranean Sea just south of where the plane disappeared.

The plane made multiple sudden turns before going down, reportedly making a 90-degree turn left and dropping 22,000 feet before swerving 360 degrees to the right. Egypt is heading the international efforts to find the wreckage, with help from Greece, France, Turkey, and the United States.

While investigators aren't ruling anything out yet, Fathi, told reporters: "The possibility of having a different action or a terror attack, is higher than the possibility of having a technical failure." Because there are concerns it was a terrorist attack, suspicion automatically went to ISIS. Last year, ISIS claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian plane over Egypt, but no group has claimed responsibility for this week's crash. Some believe another group could have taken down the plane — Egyptian militants who have been fighting against the government since 2013.