Forensic expert suggests explosion downed EgyptAir jet

[webfact]

Forensic expert suggests explosion downed EgyptAir jet
By SAM MAGDY and BRIAN ROHAN

CAIRO (AP) — Body parts recovered from the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804 showed signs of burns and were so small that they suggested the jet was brought down by an explosion, a member of the team examining the remains said Tuesday. But the idea of a blast was promptly dismissed by the head of Egypt's forensic agency as "baseless" speculation.

The cause of Thursday's crash of the EgyptAir jet flying from Paris to Cairo that killed all 66 people aboard still has not been determined. Ships and planes from Egypt, Greece, France, the United States and other nations are searching the Mediterranean Sea north of the Egyptian port of Alexandria for the jet's voice and flight data recorders, as well as more bodies and parts of the aircraft.

Egypt's civil aviation minister has said he believes terrorism is a more likely explanation than equipment failure or some other catastrophic event. But no hard evidence has emerged on the cause, and no militant group has claimed to have downed the jet. Leaked flight data indicated a sensor detected smoke in a lavatory and a fault in two of the plane's cockpit windows in the final moments of the flight.

An Egyptian forensic team was examining the remains of the victims for any traces of explosives, according to a team member and a second official, both speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

The team member said the fact that all 80 body parts recovered so far were very small and that some showed signs of burns suggested an explosion.

"There isn't even a whole body part, like an arm or a head," said the forensic official, who examined the remains.

He said at least one part of an arm has signs of burns — an indication it might have "belonged to a passenger sitting next to the explosion."

"The logical explanation is that an explosion brought it down," he said, adding that if there was a blast, the cause was not known.

But Hisham Abdel-Hamid, head of the Egyptian government's forensic agency, dismissed the suggestion, telling the state-run MENA news agency: "Whatever has been published is baseless and mere assumptions."

France's aviation accident investigation agency would not comment on anything involving the bodies or say whether any information has surfaced to indicate an explosion.

Other experts were divided on whether the state of the remains necessarily suggested an explosion.

Philip Butterworth-Hayes, an aviation systems expert, said such damage was unlikely if the plane was intact when it hit the water.

"Normally an impact is not going to do that to a human body in a seat belt," he said, adding that in some aircraft hit the water, bodies are found relatively intact.

"Normally the human frame can withstand quite severe deceleration, which is what happens when a plane hits the water," Butterworth-Hayes said.

But David Learmount, a consulting editor at the aviation news website Flightglobal, said a water impact could have such a devastating effect on those in the plane.

"Hitting water after a fall from that height is like hitting a cliff face," he said.

There also have been contradictory reports over the last moments of Flight 804.

Greece's defense minister said radar showed the aircraft turned 90 degrees left, then a full 360 degrees to the right, plummeting from 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) to 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) before disappearing at about 10,000 feet (3,048 meters).

But the head of Egypt's state-run provider of air navigation services denied that, saying the plane did not swerve or lose altitude and disappeared from radar while at its normal altitude of 37,000 feet.

A Greek military official insisted that all radar data available to Greek authorities showed the plane swerving and losing altitude. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

Egypt's investigative team said 18 batches of wreckage have been brought to Cairo's criminal investigation units for examination.

It added that priority was to locate the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — the so-called "black boxes" — and to retrieve more bodies.

A French patrol boat is carrying a doctor to help with the search for remains. Anything it finds would first be reported to Egyptian authorities and French justice officials, the French Navy said.

Relatives of the victims were giving DNA samples to the forensic team in Cairo to help identify the remains, a security official said. The official also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

___

Associated Press writers Maggie Michael in Cairo and Angela Charlton and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-05-25

[ezzra]

The most sad and unsettling part of all this is how the world have become numb, uncaring like and lose interests very quickly

from such a catastrophe, we all got used already to hearing and seeing atrocities reaching new heights

and when another plane gone down or a huge blast in some place killing dozens of innocent people, we

hear ourselves thinking that thanks god it's not in my back yard and my family and me are safe

while we pass the jam on the breakfast table....

Edited May 25, 2016 by ezzra

[bassman]

A big debate between Egypt and France. France who has been deficient in preventing terrorism, resulting in two horrible Muslim attacks in their nation, does not need another black eye showing more incompetence. And Egypt who would rather it be terrorism than faulty maintenance.

For the fuselage to come apart prior to impact would make me agree at this early point an explosion happened in the air. However, there have been instances of fuel tanks exploding in air before and not terrorism related.

Hope they find the plane and solve the mystery, whether it be Muslims, maintenance or design flaw.

[oldsailor35]

The most sad and unsettling part of all this is how the world have become numb, uncaring like and lose interests very quickly

from such a catastrophe, we all got used already to hearing and seeing atrocities reaching new heights

and when another plane gone down or a huge blast in some place killing dozens of innocent people, we

hear ourselves thinking that thanks god it's not in my back yard and my family and me are safe

while we pass the jam on the breakfast table....

So what, in your opinion , should we all be doing .

[Ulic]

Of course it was a bomb, Donald Trump already told us that.

[NeverSure]

It was a bomb. Something blew a hole in the right side of the plane while blowing up and burning bodies. Planes don't just fall out of the sky from 37,000 feet even if they lose all power.

Bomb.

[Andaman Al]

But was it a bomb? Nobody has claimed responsibility. A muslim terrorist would choose an aircraft going to London or New York or the likes why choose an aircraft with mostly other Muslims on? If there was an explosion - Occam's Razor - Exercise Phoenix Express It's happened before!

[Credo]

But was it a bomb? Nobody has claimed responsibility. A muslim terrorist would choose an aircraft going to London or New York or the likes why choose an aircraft with mostly other Muslims on? If there was an explosion - Occam's Razor - Exercise Phoenix Express It's happened before!

So a whole bunch of different nations in the region are going to keep this a secret? I think not.

[boomerangutang]

"But the idea of a blast was promptly dismissed by the head of Egypt's forensic agency as "baseless" speculation."

Typical type of response from Egyptian authorities. They're known for doing everything they can to deflect the real reasons for Egypt Air crashes. They want it to either be unresolved or mechanical failure, because that reflects better on their national carrier's reputation than terrorism or pilot suicide/mass murder.

I think it be proven to be terrorist attack / mass murder.

[Langsuan Man]

I think the terrorists are getting smarter and not acknowledging responsibility any more

Presuming that it was a terrorist acts gives them more publicity and keeps law enforcement guessing for a longer period

[Koosdedooes]

it was a fragment of a meteorite that brought down the flight...

[GeorgesAbitbol]

The most sad and unsettling part of all this is how the world have become numb, uncaring like and lose interests very quickly

from such a catastrophe, we all got used already to hearing and seeing atrocities reaching new heights

and when another plane gone down or a huge blast in some place killing dozens of innocent people, we

hear ourselves thinking that thanks god it's not in my back yard and my family and me are safe

while we pass the jam on the breakfast table....

You can witness that every day : look how the people don't give a shit when a terrorist bombing happens in Africa or Middle east: 100's are killed...but for sure no more than few headlines and of course no big social network group...

[Nasrullah]

egyptians are the biggest liars when it comes to plane crashes.......they have contradicted a few FTSB(federal transp'n safety board) findings....

Even when the evidence is compelling..........similar traits to thais regarding 'face'....

[Das Boot]

Egyptair's maintenance used to be carried out exclusively by Lufthansa at which time they had an excellent safety record in terms of mechanical integrity. Don't know if that is still the case or not?

[i claudius]

The most sad and unsettling part of all this is how the world have become numb, uncaring like and lose interests very quickly

from such a catastrophe, we all got used already to hearing and seeing atrocities reaching new heights

and when another plane gone down or a huge blast in some place killing dozens of innocent people, we

hear ourselves thinking that thanks god it's not in my back yard and my family and me are safe

while we pass the jam on the breakfast table....

You can witness that every day : look how the people don't give a shit when a terrorist bombing happens in Africa or Middle east: 100's are killed...but for sure no more than few headlines and of course no big social network group...

Lets be honest here ,do we really care what they do to each other ,? its when they come to the west and do it to us that we care , better they just stay in their own lands and live in the dark ages .