EgyptAir crash investigator downplays possibility of explosion
The head of Egypt's forensic team has downplayed the theory of an explosion bringing down the EgyptAir flight. Investigators are struggling to work out why the Airbus 320 jet crashed with 66 people on board.
"Whatever has been published is baseless and mere assumptions," Hisham Abdel-Hamid, head of Egypt's forensic authority, told the country's MENA news agency on Tuesday. Forensic experts had floated the theory of an explosion triggering the crash after they collected wreckage (pictured above) and body parts, believed to belong to the travelers on the flight. They said the largest of these was barely bigger than than the palm of a hand and suggested there had been an explosion. However Abdel-Hamid and other forensic experts downplayed the claim and the government of Cairo also released a statement, warning media outlets "to avoid chaos and spreading false rumors and damaging the state's high interests and national security." Meanwhile, Greek officials said they would start dispatching key data on the disaster on Wednesday. According to a Greek defense ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the plane had lurched violently in mid-air before plunging into the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptian officials however denied they saw the plan swerve on their radar screens. French investigators, who are helping Egyptian officials look for clues, said the plane sent a series of warnings, indicating there was smoke on board and that possible computer faults had occurred shortly before it disappeared. The EgyptAir Airbus 320 was flying from Paris to Cairo last Thursday when it vanished from radar screens and plunged into the Mediterranean Sea. There were 66 passengers and crew members traveling in the plane. Investigators are trying to find the machine's black boxes, which could reveal what went wrong. mg/jm (Ap, Reuters)
EgyptAir
EgyptAir
Egypt
Egypt Egypt_national_football_team Ancient_Egypt Egypt_(Roman_province) Kingdom_of_Egypt Egypt_Eyalet Egypt_in_the_Middle_Ages Egyptian_Football_Association Ptolemaic_Kingdom Egypt_national_basketball_team Khedivate_of_Egypt History_of_ancient_Egypt Egypt_national_handball_team Egypt_Fed_Cup_team Egypt_women's_national_squash_team Egyptian_revolution_of_2011
EgyptAir
EgyptAir
Airbus 320
Airbus_320 Airbus_A320_family
Hisham Abdel-Hamid
Egypt
Egypt Egypt_national_football_team Ancient_Egypt Egypt_(Roman_province) Kingdom_of_Egypt Egypt_Eyalet Egypt_in_the_Middle_Ages Egyptian_Football_Association Ptolemaic_Kingdom Egypt_national_basketball_team Khedivate_of_Egypt History_of_ancient_Egypt Egypt_national_handball_team Egypt_Fed_Cup_team Egypt_women's_national_squash_team Egyptian_revolution_of_2011
MENA
MENA Mena,_Arkansas Mena,_Ukraine Eugenio_Mena MENA_(news) Mena_River Mena_Raion Valle_de_Mena Mena_(album) MENA_(cable_system) Mena,_Cornwall BeIN_Sports_(Middle_East_TV_network) Juan_de_Mena Jefferson_Mena Ena/Vasp_homology_proteins ENAH_(gene)
Tuesday
Abdel-Hamid
Cairo
Cairo Cairo,_Illinois Cairo_(graphics) Cairo_Governorate Cairo,_Georgia Cairo,_New_York Egyptian_Open_(tennis) Cairo_(1942_film) Cairo_International_Airport Cairo_(1963_film) Cairo_(CDP),_New_York Cairo_(operating_system) Cairo_Conference Palm_Hills_International_Tennis_Challenger Cairo,_Missouri Cairo,_West_Virginia
Greek
Wednesday
Greek
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean_Sea Mediterranean_sea_(oceanography) Battle_of_the_Mediterranean Mediterranean_Basin Mediterranean_tropical-like_cyclone European_migrant_crisis Mediterranean_and_Middle_East_theatre_of_World_War_II History_of_the_Mediterranean_region Commander-in-Chief,_Mediterranean_(France) Messinian_salinity_crisis 1113–1115_Balearic_Islands_expedition
Egyptian
French
Egyptian
EgyptAir
EgyptAir
Airbus 320
Airbus_320 Airbus_A320_family
Paris
Paris Paris_Masters Paris_(mythology) University_of_Paris Paris,_Texas Paris,_Ontario Paris,_Tennessee Paris_(rapper) Open_GDF_Suez Paris_FC Paris,_Kentucky Meeting_de_Paris Stade_Roland_Garros Paris_(The_Chainsmokers_song) AccorHotels_Arena Paris,_Illinois
Cairo
Cairo Cairo,_Illinois Cairo_(graphics) Cairo_Governorate Cairo,_Georgia Cairo,_New_York Egyptian_Open_(tennis) Cairo_(1942_film) Cairo_International_Airport Cairo_(1963_film) Cairo_(CDP),_New_York Cairo_(operating_system) Cairo_Conference Palm_Hills_International_Tennis_Challenger Cairo,_Missouri Cairo,_West_Virginia
Thursday
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean_Sea Mediterranean_sea_(oceanography) Battle_of_the_Mediterranean Mediterranean_Basin Mediterranean_tropical-like_cyclone European_migrant_crisis Mediterranean_and_Middle_East_theatre_of_World_War_II History_of_the_Mediterranean_region Commander-in-Chief,_Mediterranean_(France) Messinian_salinity_crisis 1113–1115_Balearic_Islands_expedition
mg/jm (Ap, Reuters)
EgyptAir
EgyptAir
iptc::20000170 sector::20000338 slot::keyword topic::business type::company type::entity type::organization
Airbus 320
Airbus_320
iptc::20000170 slot::keyword topic::business type::entity type::misc type::product
Hisham Abdel-Hamid
gender::male meta::todo slot::keyword topic::none type::entity type::person
Egypt
Egypt
slot::in topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe0 type::location
MENA
MENA_(news)
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
Tuesday
topic::none type::time type::value
Cairo
Cairo
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe2 type::location
Greek
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
Wednesday
topic::none type::time type::value
Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean_Sea
topic::none type::entity type::location type::waterbody
Egyptian
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
French
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
Paris
Paris
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe2 type::location
Thursday
topic::none type::time type::value
mg/jm (Ap, Reuters)
topic::none type::footer type::other
France
Greece