Sissi says all options open on cause of EgyptAir crash
While many initially suspected the Islamic State, the jihadist group has yet to claim responsibility
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said on Sunday no particular theory is being favored to explain why EgyptAir MS804 plunged into the Mediterranean, after sending out an automated message signaling smoke on board.
The Airbus A320 carrying 66 people crashed into the sea while en route from Paris to Cairo early Thursday; some wreckage, but not the black boxes, has been found.
Egypt’s aviation minister had said that terrorism was more likely than technical failure, but Sissi insisted in a televised address that “all the theories are possible.”
“There is no particular theory we can affirm right now,” he said.
A civil aviation official told AFP on Sunday that search teams had found none of the passengers’ bodies, as the search continues.
Looking for clues to whether terrorists may have brought down the Airbus A320, investigators have been looking over the passenger list and have questioned ground crew members at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, from where the plane departed.
The aircraft had been cruising normally in clear skies on the nighttime flight when it suddenly lurched left, then right, spun all the way around and plummeted 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) into the sea, never issuing a distress signal.
Search crews are scouring for further wreckage of the aircraft. Experts said answers will come only with an examination of the wreckage, the cockpit voice recordings and the black boxes.
No group has claimed to have brought down the aircraft. This is a contrast to the downing of a Russian jet over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in October, which killed all 224 people on board. In that case, the Islamic State group’s branch in Sinai issued a claim of responsibility within hours. On Saturday, the terror group’s spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani released a 30-minute long speech but did not mention the crash. Additionally, on Friday, IS issued a statement on clashes with the Egyptian military in Sinai, but said nothing about the missing plane.
Three European security officials said on Friday that the passenger manifest for Flight 804 contained no names on terrorism watch lists. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. The manifest was leaked online and has not been verified by the airline.
In Paris, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Saturday that he and other officials — including representatives of Paris Aeroport, the French prosecutor, EgyptAir and the Egyptian ambassador to Paris — had met with about 100 family members to express “our profound compassion” over the crash.
In a statement delivered to reporters following the meeting, he said: “All the hypotheses are being examined — none are being favored.”
