Remember that EgyptAir plane that went down over the Mediterranean on a flight from Paris to Cairo back in May? This time, it wasn't a pilot suicide that crashed the plane. It was a more mundane form of terrorism: a bomb explosion.
Egypt's Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday said investigators found traces of explosive materials on the remains of the victims aboard EgyptAir Flight MS804.
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Egyptian officials in July said the word "fire" was clearly audible from cockpit voice recorder before the plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19, killing all 66 people aboard. The plane was traveling from Paris to Cairo.
Electronic messages sent out by the jet showed smoke detectors going off in a toilet and in the avionics area of the plane moments before it crashed.
The ministry said a forensic report "included a reference to find traces of explosive materials some human remains for victims of the accident."Think about that the next time you take off from Paris. Yours truly was practically strip-searched by French 'security' while boarding a flight from Paris to the US a few months ago. I guess I fit the profile (not!).
After watching PPRuNe Forums on that (pprune.org, the "Rumors & News" section near the top), I'm not so sure that there was a bomb. Possible, but there were other indications too.
ReplyDeleteOne thing is certain. If it WAS terrorism, the Egyptian gov't will be the last to admit it.
It's a reasonably sure thing that absent running out of gas, flying into a mountain or the astonishingly small probability of a catastrophic mechanical failure, EVERY plane crash is either intentional or a bomb. We simply have reached the point where accidents, bad weather, equipment failure, on board fires or crew error cause plane crashes. The FIRST conclusion should be it was an intentional criminal terrorist act and then proceed to demonstrate that that's not the case.
ReplyDeleteYou could strip search 100% of the passengers and it would be to no avail if the explosives are put aboard by the airport staff (e.g. cleaning crews, technical crews, baggage handlers)...
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen how many of these people in Europe have very distinct "Mediterranean" features?!...
Warning, don't fly Egyptair. Their security trusts Muslims.
ReplyDeleteTrudy -- Depends upon the airline. Western ones, yes. Others, not necessarily. Pakistan's PIA sacrifices goats instead of doing engine overhauls. Emirates runs its flight crews ragged and the UAE arrests any of them who publicly objects. A Korean junior officer wouldn't dare tell a senior who's at the stick that he's coming in too low.
ReplyDeleteSee Ch. 3 (Culture) in Sowell's book from last year, Wealth, Poverty and Politics. Culture has a lot to do with a lot of things.