A man died after his plane crashed due to a fire on board, a coroner has ruled, rejecting an Egyptian report saying there had been an explosion.
Richard Osman, who grew up in Carmarthen, Wales, died alongside 65 others nearly a decade ago, when EgyptAir flight MS804 vanished over the Mediterranean in May 2016.
At an inquest on Friday, the coroner dismissed the Egyptian investigator’s suggestion that there had been a deliberate explosion on the aircraft.
Instead, he agreed with a British expert who believed a fire had broken out on board the aircraft, possibly fuelled by a leak at an oxygen mask in the cockpit.
The coroner said the inquest had been significantly delayed while they waited for all the evidence to be presented.
Mr Osman, a 40-year-old geologist, had been travelling from Paris to Cairo when his plane crashed.
His flight went missing after entering Greek airspace.
The inquest heard the fire would have spread rapidly throughout the flight deck, meaning the aircraft could not be controlled, resulting in the crash.
There were some 59 passengers on board, two flight crew and five cabin attendants. There were no survivors.
Mr Osman’s widow, Aurelie Vandeputte, with whom he had two children, described him as “loved and appreciated” by his family, friends and colleagues.
Mark Layton, the coroner for Carmarthenshire, said there had been two conflicting explanations for the cause of the crash put forward by the French and Egyptian investigators.
He heard from Ken Fairbank, a British aviation expert, who sided with the French report, which said the likely cause of the crash was a fire in the cockpit.
Mr Layton said the Egyptian report concluded the probable cause was “a detonation of an explosive device secreted in the forward galley, which resulted in fire and smoke, that severely affected the aircraft and flight crew”.
Mr Fairbank said: “Despite the discovery of traces of explosives found on some of the wreckage and victims’ remains, the weight of evidence is not, in my view, consistent with the published scenario in which an explosive device triggered the accident.”
He said traces of explosives, possibly TNT, “cannot be ignored”, but the results had been “challenged” by the French authorities, who were not able to get it independently verified.
“I believe the fire most likely started adjacent to the first officer’s position on the right side of the flight deck,” he said.
Mr Fairbank said a hiss and a pop could be heard on a black box recording in the cockpit, but there was no sound of an explosion, with people heard saying “fire”.
Mr Layton said he “fully accepts” Mr Fairbank’s conclusion.
Recording a narrative conclusion, he said: “Richard Osman was a passenger of a commercial flight MS804, travelling from Paris to Cairo, which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 2016.
“Following a fire on board caused by an ignition source of unknown origin, most likely associated with the first officer’s oxygen supply system, which either resulted from, or was fed by, an oxygen leak.”
Mr Layton said he would be writing a prevention of future deaths report to look at ways to ensure the tragedy is not repeated in the future.
He added: “I would like to pass on my heartfelt condolences to Ms Vandeputte and to her children and her family.
“To thank you, Ms Vandeputte, for your patience and understanding over the many, many years it has taken to reach this stage and finally conclude the inquest, and your tireless fight to gain an understanding into the circumstances and tragic events which led to your husband’s death.”
In a statement, Ms Vandeputte said: “Today, the inquest into Richard’s death was finally held, just short of nine years after his death.
“Those long years have been excruciating, with years of chaos and disrespect of the victims’ bodies, their families’ emotions, absence of information, false leaks and speculations.
“I am immensely grateful to Senior Coroner Mr Mark Layton, who throughout those many years has remained committed to our journey for truth and helping me, our daughters and Richard’s wider family and friends find closure through the inquest process.
“I am also very thankful to the Welsh authorities for the continuous investment in the process.
“I would also like to extend my thanks to Mr Fairbank for his expertise and careful consideration of the accident.
“We can now close this chapter. Richard’s love, values and determination inspired us every day of this journey and will continue building us over the years.”
Peter Neenan, the family’s solicitor, said it had been a “travesty” that eight years had passed since the accident without the Egyptian authorities issuing a final report or interim statement.
He said: “The suffering that the investigators needlessly inflicted on Aurelie and her family, as well as the families of the 65 others onboard is unforgivable.”
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