French Investigators probing the crash of Egypt Airline Flight MS804 believe that the tragedy that led to the death of 66 passengers was probably caused by an iPhone battery explosion. If this theory indeed makes it through the follow-up investigations, Apple will definitely find itself in a huge controversy in the coming days.
The crash took place in May 2016. Initial investigations suggested that the crash was caused by a fire on board. And now, giving an interesting spin on the matter, investigators have found evidence that the Airbus A320’s co-pilot and one of his Apple devices might be unintentional culprits.
Apparently, as seen in the CCTV footage, first First Office Mohamed Mamdouh Asseem placed his iPhone 6s, iPad, and four bottles of cologne on the flight’s dashboard before the takeoff. As per regulations put in place by the airliner, all personal belongings of the crew must be stored away before the take-off.
The data collected from the black box hints that the fire that brought down the plane started on the co-pilot’s side of the flight’s cockpit.
On that fateful day, Flight MS804 disappeared from radar after 205 minutes into the flight time and its wreckage was found the next day. In the final moments before its rapid descent, the pilot was heard asking to co-pilot to tame a blaze that probably erupted inside the cockpit.
However, casting a doubt on this theory, air safety expert David Learmount told The Telegraph that it is somewhat unusual for pilots to “leave objects on the dashboard because they know they will end up in their lap when they take off or on the floor and they’ll get airborne in turbulence and could jam the controls.”
When asked for a response, an Apple spokesperson stated, ”We haven’t been contacted by any authority investigating this tragic event. We have not seen the report but we understand there is no evidence to link this event to Apple products.”