French investigators dismiss Egyptian findings that explosion brought down A320

After an eight-year inquiry, Egyptian investigators have controversially concluded that ignition of explosive material behind the cockpit of an EgyptAir Airbus A320 resulted in a fire and the loss of the aircraft, an explanation dismissed by French counterparts. The twinjet – operating from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Cairo on 19 May 2016 – came down in the Mediterranean Sea after radar contact was lost in Egyptian airspace, with the aircraft at 37,000ft some 7nm south of the KUMBI waypoint. None of the 66 occupants on board the aircraft (SU-GCC) survived. The inquiry has been the subject of friction between French and Egyptian air accident investigation authorities, with France’s BEA arguing that evidence from the cockpit-voice recorder, avionics and debris point to a rapidly-developing cockpit fire. According to the Egyptian air accident investigation department’s newly-released final conclusions, three scenarios were drawn up to explain the loss of the jet. It considered whether the fire started on the first officer’s side, enriched by an oxygen leak, a scenario consistent with a hissing sound heard on the cockpit-voice recorder.<br/>