UTX United Technologies Corporation

By Andy Pasztor 

U.S. air-safety experts expect to have only a limited role, focused strictly on engine-related technical issues, as they assist the Egypt-led probe into the crash of a Russian jet in the Sinai Peninsula two weeks ago, according to a senior U.S. accident investigator.

Since the Oct. 31 crash that killed all 224 aboard the Airbus A321, Egyptian authorities have received some routine technical help from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board regarding software required to retrieve information from the cockpit voice recorder.

But the safety board expects its future participation to be restricted to examining performance of the plane's engines, the senior NTSB official said Friday. The engines were manufactured by the Pratt & Whitney unit of United Technologies Corp.

At this point, U.S. crash experts don't expect to gain access to the crash site, according to the official, or to participate in examining any of the wreckage or analysis of the black box recorders. It isn't clear whether the safety board will get a draft copy of formal accident reports prepared by Egyptian authorities in conjunction with representatives from four other countries--Russia, France, Germany and Ireland--that are full-fledged participants in the continuing probe.

Based on preliminary examination of the wreckage and data retrieved from the plane's recorders, the engines aren't suspected of causing the crash, according to people familiar with the matter.

The senior NTSB official also told reporters Friday that the U.S. still doesn't know whether Egyptian investigators heading the probe intend to have the engines disassembled for detailed examination.

If that occurs, however, he said the safety board and Pratt & Whitney are expected to send technical experts to the designated location.

If it were a U.S. airliner crash, the official said, the engines most likely would be torn down. Given the significant loss of life, he said, such examination is "something you want to do as much as you can" to eliminate all potential factors in a major commercial jet crash.

"We wouldn't expect [Egypt] to provide" the U.S. with transcripts of the cockpit voice recorder, the NTSB official said, though the safety board remains ready to provide broader assistance to the probe if asked.

"We have to look at things diplomatically," the official said, referring to the safety board's limited purview and authority in this case compared with experts from other countries.

French crash investigators are full-fledged participants under international air-safety rules because the plane was designed in France. Russia has a comparable role because most of the victims were Russian, and the airline is based there. The plane was assembled in Germany and was registered in Ireland.

The NTSB may not have the opportunity to review or comment on any of the eventual investigative details or conclusions, according to the senior official. "If they would send us" only those portions dealing with engine issues, "we would say thank you" and likely accept that without complaints, he said.

The comments come as Egyptian officials are seeking outside assistance to determine the nature of the noise captured at the end of the cockpit recorder. The U.S. hasn't been asked to help.

The safety board official said his investigators aren't coordinating with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has been rebuffed in providing forensic experts to help investigators determine whether an explosive device was responsible for the tragedy.

Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2015 17:18 ET (22:18 GMT)

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