France furious with Egypt over air crash allegations

France has accused Egypt of trying to cover up “maintenance failures” by claiming that the EgyptAir aircraft which crashed in the Mediterranean Sea in May en route from Paris to Cairo was “bombed”.

According to Britain’s Times newspaper, the Egyptians are claiming that “traces of explosives have been found on the remains of those who died” in the crash. French investigators insist that there is no possibility that this could have happened and claim that Cairo is trying to cover up the failure to carry out routine maintenance of the aircraft. They have requested the evidence indicating the presence of explosives in the passengers’ remains, but their request was denied by the Egyptians, thus raising questions. They added that Egypt preferred to blame terrorists rather than admit to technical failure; this, of course, is an indirect accusation that ground staff at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport failed to search the passengers, luggage and equipment before take-off.

“The Egyptian civil aviation ministry said that a criminal investigation would be opened into the crash of Flight 804 from Paris, which killed all 66 people on board — 15 of them French — when it came down on approach to Cairo on May 19,” said the Times report.

The French investigators should be given access to the inquiry into the EgyptAir crash but they are complaining that they have been barred. It is their belief that mechanical failure was the most likely cause of the crash and not terrorism. The recordings retrieved from the aircraft’s black box by the French authorities include a conversation between the captain and co-pilot, who is being told by the captain to extinguish a fire.

The newspaper reported that the families of the French passengers have criticised the Egyptian inquiry due to its refusal to hand over their relatives’ remains. Stéphane Gicquel, head of the National Federation for Victims of Attacks and Accidents, accused the Egyptian authorities of “blackmail” in order “to support the terrorist thesis and protect EgyptAir.”