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| Africa: North | |
| Red Sea Crash Black Box May Be Found | |
| 2004-01-06 | |
| EFL, just the new stuff Searchers hunting for the wreckage of an airliner zeroed in on a signal late Monday that could be the black box - holding clues to the cause of the Red Sea crash that killed all 148 people aboard. The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, said four people with dual U.S.-Egyptian citizenship were among the dead, the first word that Americans were on the Flash Airlines flight, which was bound for Paris via Cairo. Most of the passengers were French tourists. The plane - an 11-year-old Boeing 737 operated by the private Cairo-based carrier - crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday from this popular Red Sea resort. The crash coincided with heightened concern about terrorism in the skies, but Egypt quickly ruled out the possibility of an attack, saying the crash was an accident caused by a mechanical failure.
"But we’re sure of it, really we are!" A signal that could be the plane’s black box was detected late Monday by radar on a robotic arm used by searchers at the crash scene, a French Embassy official said. The official, who declined to be named, called the signal a positive development and said the search would resume Tuesday morning. As the country where the plane was made, the United States was sending a team of investigators to the scene, including experts from Boeing. France has sent in advanced military equipment to help find wreckage and remains, as well as forensics experts to identify body parts through DNA testing. A French military plane equipped with radar took its first surveillance flight over the area Monday, and a team of 16 French military divers was to begin work on Tuesday. Bet it’s mechanical. Rest of the story suggests that Flash Airlines could give the Ukrainians lessons. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #14 We all speak fluent asshat here. Sometimes, too fluent. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2004-1-6 10:15:17 PM |
| #13 My most humble apologies!! |
| Posted by: alaskasoldier 2004-1-6 7:33:01 PM |
| #12 Rantburg newbies :) heh |
| Posted by: RW2004 2004-1-6 6:22:31 PM |
| #11 AlaskaSoldier, that was sarcasm on Steve's part. No member of the Army of Steve™ would ever call Bush a Nazi. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-1-6 6:16:58 PM |
| #10 Steve, It's really funny that you would call Bush a Nazi. If it were true (or if this were an Islamic "Republic"), the brown shirts would be already have the blog log. They would pull your IP address, hunt you down, cut your balls off, shove them up your butt and out your mouth, hunt down your family members, etc., etc.. |
| Posted by: alaskasoldier 2004-1-6 5:02:04 PM |
| #9 What options are left after that? It was shot down by the US Navy with a stealth SAM from the stealth destroyer, the same one that brought down TWA flight 800. Why? Payback by that nazi Bush because the french stood up against his plans to take the Iraqi peoples oil don't you understand ITS ALL ABOUT THE OIL!!!!!!!!!! |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-1-6 11:52:05 AM |
| #8 I have no comment! |
| Posted by: flash91 2004-1-6 11:46:10 AM |
| #7 If this was a terrorist attack, who will the French shakedown on behalf of the familes of dead passengers? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-1-6 11:44:09 AM |
| #6 "This isn't going to happen fast..." Well, it only took them two hours or so from the initial crash to declare they were sure it wasn't terrorism. And now they're saying they don't think it's mechanical either? What options are left after that, microbursts and russian gremlins from the old bugs bunny cartoon? |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2004-1-6 11:34:24 AM |
| #5 Oh, Never mind. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2004-1-6 10:44:05 AM |
| #4 Who is this Allan Ahkbar everyone keeps talking about?:) |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2004-1-6 10:42:49 AM |
| #3 they need both the flight data and cockpit voice data plus a forensics check of the plane this isn't going to happen fast |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-1-6 10:29:01 AM |
| #2 "Allah Ahkbar" is item #15 on the pre-flight checklist. |
| Posted by: RW2004 2004-1-6 9:11:06 AM |
| #1 Don't jump to the mechanical conclusion just yet. First find the pilot and co-pilot's bodies and check the dead faces for the 72-virgin smile. Might also listen carefully to the last transmissions and see if there isn't an "Allah Ahkbar" in the background noise. |
| Posted by: Rivrdog 2004-1-6 1:05:01 AM |