Jan 5th 2004- Islamic group claims Red Sea air crash. By, JPOST.COM STAFF
An obscure Islamic organization called the "Advocates of Truth" claim responbsibility for causing the crash of an Egyptian charter plane that crashed into the Red Sea Saturday killing 134 French tourists and the Egyptian crew, reports Army Radio.
However, a French aviation official said Monday that a routine technical check on an Egyptian charter aircraft two months before it crashed into the Red Sea showed the plane was fit to fly.
Meanwhile, body parts recovered from the deadly crash on Saturday bore no traces of burns, suggesting there was no explosion aboard the aircraft, a top French Foreign Ministry official said.
Renaud Muselier, the ministry's secretary of state, told French media he believes the crash of the Boeing 737, which killed all 148 people aboard, was an accident. Most of the victims were French tourists.
Michel Wachenheim, head of France's Civil Aviation Authority, said it will be difficult to determine the cause of the crash until the 'black box' flight recorders are located.
France has dispatched a maritime surveillance plane, a frigate, 16 scuba divers, and a robot submarine, beefing up recovery efforts and search for the flight recorder.
Swiss aviation authorities said Sunday they had banned Flash, a private Cairo-based carrier, over technical worries.
In 2003, Switzerland informed France of its concerns, and French authorities carried out three checks, obtaining satisfying results, French Transport Minister Gilles de Robien said.
The Civil Aviation Authority said Flash was inspected seven times in two years in Europe: Twice in Switzerland and once in Norway in 2002, and three times in France and once in Poland in 2003.
And Germany's civil aviation authority put Flash Airlines' flying rights under review as a precautionary measure in light of the crash, spokeswoman Cornelia Eichhorn said, adding that the company has had flying rights in Germany only since last month.
Meanwhile, in Cairo, dozens of Polish vacationers remained after they refused to board a chartered Egyptian plane and demanded that national carrier LOT send a plane to take them home.
More than 100 Polish tourists in the resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheik originally were scheduled to return home late Saturday on a plane belonging to Flash Airlines, one of whose two aircraft crashed into the Red Sea that morning killing all 148 people on board.
The Poles refused to board an aircraft from another Egyptian company that was chartered at the last minute by their tour operator, El Greco, and demanded the Warsaw-based company provide a LOT plane.
"We will not get on an Egyptian plane," Inga Rosinska, a television reporter who was among the vacationers, said by telephone from Hurghada. "We will wait for LOT or some other reliable airline."
An obscure Islamic organization called the "Advocates of Truth" claim responbsibility for causing the crash of an Egyptian charter plane that crashed into the Red Sea Saturday killing 134 French tourists and the Egyptian crew, reports Army Radio.
However, a French aviation official said Monday that a routine technical check on an Egyptian charter aircraft two months before it crashed into the Red Sea showed the plane was fit to fly.
Meanwhile, body parts recovered from the deadly crash on Saturday bore no traces of burns, suggesting there was no explosion aboard the aircraft, a top French Foreign Ministry official said.
Renaud Muselier, the ministry's secretary of state, told French media he believes the crash of the Boeing 737, which killed all 148 people aboard, was an accident. Most of the victims were French tourists.
Michel Wachenheim, head of France's Civil Aviation Authority, said it will be difficult to determine the cause of the crash until the 'black box' flight recorders are located.
France has dispatched a maritime surveillance plane, a frigate, 16 scuba divers, and a robot submarine, beefing up recovery efforts and search for the flight recorder.
Swiss aviation authorities said Sunday they had banned Flash, a private Cairo-based carrier, over technical worries.
In 2003, Switzerland informed France of its concerns, and French authorities carried out three checks, obtaining satisfying results, French Transport Minister Gilles de Robien said.
The Civil Aviation Authority said Flash was inspected seven times in two years in Europe: Twice in Switzerland and once in Norway in 2002, and three times in France and once in Poland in 2003.
And Germany's civil aviation authority put Flash Airlines' flying rights under review as a precautionary measure in light of the crash, spokeswoman Cornelia Eichhorn said, adding that the company has had flying rights in Germany only since last month.
Meanwhile, in Cairo, dozens of Polish vacationers remained after they refused to board a chartered Egyptian plane and demanded that national carrier LOT send a plane to take them home.
More than 100 Polish tourists in the resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheik originally were scheduled to return home late Saturday on a plane belonging to Flash Airlines, one of whose two aircraft crashed into the Red Sea that morning killing all 148 people on board.
The Poles refused to board an aircraft from another Egyptian company that was chartered at the last minute by their tour operator, El Greco, and demanded the Warsaw-based company provide a LOT plane.
"We will not get on an Egyptian plane," Inga Rosinska, a television reporter who was among the vacationers, said by telephone from Hurghada. "We will wait for LOT or some other reliable airline."
