| Investigators trying to find out the cause of the crash early this year of a Flash Airlines aircraft off the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh have simulated the crash, an Egyptian official said Thursday. The official from the civil aviation ministry said the exercise was carried out recently at a Boeing Co. facility in the United States, but insisted it was still too early to determine the cause of the crash. The Egyptian-operated aircraft plunged into the Red Sea in January, killing all 148 people on board, including 135 French holiday-makers. A team comprised of Egyptian, French and American experts investigating the crash, and from Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft, were present during the procedure, said the official. The aim of simulating the flight was to test theories based on information recovered from the airplane's cockpit voice recorder and its technical data recorder. He added that the joint investigating team would meet on December 15 to analyze the results of the simulation, but could not say when a final report was expected. |