French rule out explosion in EgyptAir crash

Sources in the French investigation team studying the crash of EgyptAir 804 into the Mediterranean a year ago have ruled out an explosion according to the AFP news agency.
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The exploson theory was advanced by Egypt but ruled out because of the lack of any traces of explosive material.
The French investigatiors are focusing their attention on a theory that the fire was caused by a tablet device catching fire in or near to the cockpit.
"There were no explosive charges" aboard the plane, the source said, because "no traces of powder were found" by police in samples taken from the remains of eight of the 15 French nationals killed.
Egyptian authorities had handed the remains to their families in January.
According to the source, the long-awaited results were "recently" reported to the three investigating judges in charge of the case in Paris.
The findings "only serve to confirm the theory by French investigators since the beginning, that this was an accident and not an act of terror", the source said.
At this stage, the combustion or self-combustion of a tablet in the cockpit is the working hypothesis," the source said, but "elements" needed to prove it - such as debris from "the cabin or flight recorders" - "are in Egypt and the Egyptians have not shown a great willingness to collaborate".