Only Egypt's public prosecution assigned to investigate 2016 plane crash: ministry

CAIRO - 4 April 2019: Ministry of Civil Aviation said it is keen not to provide technical information about the 2016 crash of the Paris-Cairo EgyptAir flight (MS804) that killed all 66 people on board, as investigations were earlier referred to the Public Prosecution.

This comes after an experts’ report commissioned by France’s Justice Ministry claimed that the crash was a result of a lack of maintenance and that the plane should never have taken off.

The Egyptian ministry said that the local Public Prosecution is the only authority currently charged with investigating the crash.

In May, 2016, a plane of EgyptAir, the flag carrier airline of Egypt, crashed over the Mediterranean Sea, 10 miles after it entered the Egyptian airspace. The victims included 30 Egyptians and 15 French citizens, according to some reports.

The French BEA air accident investigation agency has previously said the crash was probably caused by a cockpit fire, contradicting an earlier suggestion by Egyptian authorities that a bomb may have been the cause.

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Reuters contributed to the report