I think someone prodded him with a fragment of a clue camel
CNN's Richard Quest says the distress call, if it did come from the missing EgyptAir flight, may not have been sent manually by a pilot but could have been from some form of activated water device or crash device.
"It could be a life raft or anything that has broken off that sends out an emergency signal, it does not mean the pilots sent a Mayday," he added.