EgyptAir investigation involves technical, criminal aspects

The investigation into the disappearance of the EgyptAir passenger plane this week involves both technical and criminal aspects, Egypt’s chief investigator said Saturday.

The Egyptian commission investigating this week’s EgyptAir plane crash has requested from France the recordings of all conversations from flight MS804 between the pilots and air traffic controllers, commission head Ayman Mukaddam said.

“The investigation includes a technical part for which the commission investigating the causes of the incident is responsible, and the criminal part, in which the French prosecutor general deals with in coordination with the Egyptian attorney general,” Ayman Muqaddam told Egypt’s Ahram daily.

Muqaddam explained that the Egyptian prosecutor general was involved in identifying the remains of the victims through DNA tests, which will then be attached to materials in the investigation.

On Thursday, the EgyptAir Airbus A320 plane, carrying a total of 66 people, disappeared from radar screens over the Mediterranean Sea, 10 miles into Egyptian airspace. The plane was headed from Paris to Cairo.

“I have requested from the French side all the recordings of conversations between the captain of the aircraft and air traffic controllers from the moment preparation for the flight began,” Mukaddam said.

He said he had met with the French side and discussed the search operation and the investigation into the probe.

EgyptAir has said via Twitter that the Egyptian Armed Forces have discovered the wreckage and personal items from flight MS804 295 kilometers (183 miles) from the coast of Alexandria.

source: Sputnik