U.S. team arrives in Sudan to assist plane crash probe

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Jul 31, 2003 (AP) — U.S. investigators have arrived in Sudan to investigate the site of this month’s Sudan Airways passenger plane crash that killed 115 people, a spokesman for the national carrier said Thursday.

The four-member delegation comprises officials from the National Transport Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Authority, plus a Boeing representative and an official from the company that makes engines for the aircraft manufacturer.

Omar Ali, the spokesman for Sudan Airways, said the delegation offered to assist the crash investigation in Port Sudan, the scene of the July 8 crash that left only one survivor – 3-year-old Mohammed el-Fateh Osman who is undergoing treatment in a London children’s hospital for burns and the loss of part of one leg.

The investigators have inspected the site and the engines and other remains of the Boeing 737 that crashed after taking off from Port Sudan. The plane was bound for the capital, Khartoum.

A statement released by the airline Thursday said the U.S. delegation’s findings will be shared with a Sudanese-British committee that is leading the crash investigation.

Aviation experts have been probing the ill-fated airliner’s “black box” recorder and other evidence to try to learn what caused the crash. Initial reports have cited a technical problem.