[19:00:12] ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT next, the breaking news. Smoke detected on board EgyptAir 804 just moments before the plane disappeared from radar. Was it from a bomb or mechanical failure?
Plus, investigators interview the ground crew who worked on the plane just before takeoff. How many people had hands on access?
And a real estate titan and reality TV star tells us what she really thinks about the man she has known for decades. Barbara Corcoran of "Shark Tank" talks about Donald Trump. Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news. New details about the moments before EgyptAir Flight 804 disappeared from radar. CNN is learning that there was smoke on board the plane in the three minutes before it fell from the sky. On board sensors detecting smoke in one of the plane's bathrooms, and in the avionics bay that houses crucial flight controls. Also just in to CNN, investigators interviewing the ground crew that serviced Flight 804 before it took off from Paris. We now know the plan was actually on the tarmac at Charles de Gaulle airport for about 90 minutes before taking off for Cairo.
This as debris and body parts from the plane are being found at sea. It's a horrific scene, and two days after disappearing from radar, no terror group has claimed responsibility for the mysterious crash. Tonight, a massive hunt by sea and air for the plane itself and its black boxes. The plane is in waters as deep as 10,000 feet.
We begin our coverage with Ian Lee OUTFRONT tonight in Cairo. And Ian, a lot of significant new clues this evening.
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Erin. A lot of these clues coming from the A-CARS, that's the aircraft communications addressing and reporting system, which monitors the sensors aboard the aircraft. And if verified, it gives us a window into the final moments of the plane before it crashed.
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LEE (voice-over): New evidence tonight revealing what may have caused EgyptAir Flight 804 to nose dive 37,000 feet into the Mediterranean Sea. Real-time data sent from the plane shows smoke was detected in one of the plane's bathrooms at 2:26 a.m. That's just one minute before air traffic controllers tried to reach the pilots with no response. At the same time, smoke detected in the plane's avionics bay where critical electronics are stored.
Finally, at 2:29 problems with the A-320's flight controls. Greek civil aviation officials say 2:29 is also when the plane disappeared from radar. Still unclear, whether the plane was brought down by mechanical failure, or an act of terror. But a bomb remains the leading theory among U.S. officials. Even though no one has claimed responsibility. This, as airplane debris, passenger seats, luggage and body parts all found floating in the Mediterranean. This satellite image taken over the search area 180 miles north of the port city of Alexandria, captures an oil slick, more than a mile long, possibly from the EgyptAir plane.
Nearly 48 hours after the airbus went missing, there's still no sign of the plane's black boxes. Flight data and cockpit voice recorders, crucial to the investigation.
