14 American Victims of EgyptAir Crash Identified
The remains of the first victims of Egypt-Air Flight 990 have been identified, four months after the plane plunged into the ocean.
Medical, dental and fingerprint records were used to determine the identities of the 14 victims--all U.S. residents--paving the way for families to bury their relatives.
The EgyptAir flight crashed Oct. 31 off the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, killing the 217 people on board. A salvage ship worked for a week in December, raising the wreckage and remains off the ocean floor.
The Rhode Island medical examiner’s office has been overseeing the identification process. It has been working with 6,000 tissue fragments and a smaller number of body parts. Only 1,300 fragments are suitable for DNA testing, and results may not be ready for 10 months.
The National Transportation Safety Board estimated that 70% of the aircraft, including one engine and sections of the wings, tail and body, was recovered.
The agency has disputed reports that investigators are increasingly convinced the jet was crashed deliberately.
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