French Prosecutor Launches Criminal Probe into Crash of Flight MS804
Jeff Edwards June 27, 2016
A prosecutor in Paris has announced an official “involuntary homicide” investigation into the events leading up to the loss of Egypt Air Flight 804 over the Mediterranean in May.
Amid growing speculation that the Egypt Air Flight MS804 air disaster over the Mediterranean Sea may have been caused by malicious intent, a prosecutor in Paris has initiated a criminal probe into the crash. The May 19 flight which ended in tragedy, originated at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) before disappearing enroute to Cairo International Airport (CAI).
Now, BBC News reports that the Paris prosecutor has asserted jurisdiction over any possible criminal charges related to the plane crash. “The Paris prosecutor has opened today a full investigation into involuntary homicide,” a spokesman said in a brief statement released on Twitter on Monday.
The prosecutor’s office will reportedly conduct a criminal investigation that will run parallel to the official accident inquiries being conducted by aviation authorities. The office told reporters that the introduction of a criminal probe does not necessarily mean that prosecutors believe that the air disaster was terror-related.
The cause of the disaster has not yet been determined. Only in recent weeks have accident investigators been able to locate and start to examine flight recorders, or so-called black boxes, recovered from the wreckage of the doomed aircraft. The prosecutor cautioned that the criminal probe will be conducted as an accident investigation unless evidence to the contrary comes to light.
[Photo: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS]
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Incorrect. The French have started an involuntary manslaughter investigation, which they would do in the case of any accident in which French citizens lost their lives. It is standard procedure and still indicative that the loss of this flight is being treated as an accident. If it had been announced that manslaughter or homicide investigations, without the important "involuntary" prefix, then it might be possible to jump to the conclusion that there was a belief the aircraft was deliberately brought down.