France opens manslaughter inquiry into EgyptAir crash

[webfact]

France opens manslaughter inquiry into EgyptAir crash
By ANGELA CHARLTON

PARIS (AP) — French authorities opened a manslaughter inquiry Monday into the May crash of an EgyptAir plane that killed 66 people, saying there is no evidence so far to link it to terrorism.

Prosecutor's office spokesman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said the inquiry was launched as an accident investigation, not a terrorism investigation. She said French authorities are "not at all" favoring the theory that the plane was downed deliberately, though the status of the inquiry could eventually change if evidence emerges to that effect.

Investigators decided to start the probe before waiting to analyze the plane's flight data and voice recorders, based on evidence gathered so far, she said, without elaborating.

EgyptAir Flight 804, an Airbus A320 en route from Paris to Cairo, slammed into the Mediterranean on May 19. The reason for the crash remains unclear. The pilots made no distress call and no group has claimed to have brought down the aircraft.

An Egyptian official at the ministry of civil aviation said Egyptian authorities haven't been notified of the French prosecutor's decision and that all scenarios remain on the table.

"There is no evidence that backs up or rules out any of the possible scenarios of what caused the crash, including whether it is a terrorist act or technical problems," he said.

The Egyptian investigation committee is in charge of issuing a final report, but France can also investigate because the plane was manufactured by France-based Airbus and French citizens were among those killed.

Search teams have recovered its two flight recorders, but they suffered damage and Egyptian investigators were unable to download information from the black boxes. The recorders' memory cards arrived Monday in Paris, Egyptian investigators said.

Technicians at France's air accident investigation agency, the BEA, will attempt to clean and repair the boxes and then send them back to Egypt for analysis, BEA spokesman Sebastien Barthe said.

In a statement issued late Monday, the Egyptian investigation committee said that the flight data recorder has been fully repaired.

___

Maggie Michael in Egypt contributed to this report.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-06-28

[sweatalot]

Didn't they find the black box?

[sanukjim]

Manslaughter ? If it was pilot or a maintenance error their could be a case brought of manslaughter,but if it was deliberately caused to crash by a human then it is" Murder in the first degree"..

[balo]

My guess is pilot suicide.

[sanukjim]

My guess is pilot suicide.

With the intention of becoming a Islamic martyr by killing multiple non believers.

[biplanebluey]

These "flight recorders" or black Boxes as they are called are painted a very vivid "RED" to make them easily visible.They are also made totally indestructible so that the info inside is always guaranteed in perfect condition.Now it would appear that not only are they hard to see and find after a crash,but they are not made strong enough to withstand the forces put on them when subjected to them in a situatuion that they were designed for !!!!! so much for modern technology.Perhaps it's more important to make them bigger and better looking.More attractive for prospective pax and more pax equals more money,but more safety ???? Also I would assume that the longer they can delay any info on this "accident" means the public will forget and carry on flying without any worries that this particular event may have been caused by.Just my few observations ,but I will tell you now this is no slouch post.I have had 50 yrs working on aircraft manufacture and maintenance ,so you could say I know a thing or two what I am talking about--------------Dougal

[Chicog]

These "flight recorders" or black Boxes as they are called are painted a very vivid "RED" to make them easily visible.They are also made totally indestructible so that the info inside is always guaranteed in perfect condition.Now it would appear that not only are they hard to see and find after a crash,but they are not made strong enough to withstand the forces put on them when subjected to them in a situatuion that they were designed for !!!!! so much for modern technology.Perhaps it's more important to make them bigger and better looking.More attractive for prospective pax and more pax equals more money,but more safety ???? Also I would assume that the longer they can delay any info on this "accident" means the public will forget and carry on flying without any worries that this particular event may have been caused by.Just my few observations ,but I will tell you now this is no slouch post.I have had 50 yrs working on aircraft manufacture and maintenance ,so you could say I know a thing or two what I am talking about--------------Dougal

They were a long way down in 10,000 feet (I think) of water, so being red is hardly going to make them noticeable on the surface.

They were also heavily damaged which is not unusual. They are NOT totally indestructible.

The cockpit voice recorder was recovered in "several stages" by the search vessel John Lethbridge, operated by Deep Ocean Search and equipped with a Remotely Operated Vehicle, the Egyptian Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said.

Although designed to survive a crash and fire, the recorder had sustained damage, and only its memory unit — "the most important in the recorder" — was recovered unharmed, it said, without elaborating on the extent of the damage.

They've been sent to Paris for repair by the manufacturer, presumably under the watchful eye of Airbus and the NTSB.

If you've been 50 yrs in the industry you'd know there is no way they'll make any kind of statements about likely causes until they've analysed the information off the recorders.

There is no "delay" per se, it would be pointless trying because the worlds' press are watching and waiting.

Normally they are desperate to *stop* the press drawing incorrect conclusions.

[wotsdermatter]

It was reported this morning on MSN that the boxes have now been cleaned and will head back to Egypt where the content will be analysed. Apparently, they were damaged, contradictory to popular belief they are indestructible and cannot be destroyed or damaged. They were found to contain a quantity of salt from being damaged and submerged in sea water.

[SgtRock]

France opens manslaughter inquiry into EgyptAir crash

Bad or sloppy journalism ?

How can you have a manslaughter inquiry when you currently have no idea what brought the plane down. It is nothing more than an accident investigation.

Unless of course....................