Power Loss Probably Caused Egypt Crash

Military boats hovered on the horizon and salvage crews continued to trawl for human remains and airplane wreckage Sunday as people at this vibrant beach resort expressed a muted sense of relief that the crash Saturday that killed 148 people was probably caused by a power failure aboard the aircraft rather than terrorism.

“It was an accident. Accidents happen everywhere,” said Italian tourist Laura Antinucci. “If it was a terrorist attack, maybe that would be different.”

Officials still weren’t certain why the chartered Boeing 737 plunged into the Red Sea a few minutes after takeoff Saturday. Most of the victims were French tourists headed back to Paris after vacationing at this Sinai peninsula resort; a Moroccan, a Japanese and 13 Egyptian crew members also died.

Investigators continued to scour the sea for the flight data and voice recorders that could help piece together the plane’s final minutes. France announced that it would send a robot to help navigate the deep, shark-infested waters.

In Paris, French Transport Minister Gilles de Robien said a power outage probably doomed the plane. “There was no explosion before the crash, no one has claimed responsibility for [an] attack,” he told French radio station Europe 1. “The arguments most commonly set out show that it was simply a loss of power.”

The Egyptian charter airline that owned and operated the plane had been banned from Swiss airspace for more than a year, Swiss aviation spokeswoman Celestine Perissinotto said Sunday. Egyptian Flash Airlines failed safety inspections and was “a danger to aviation security,” she said.

Egyptian officials said the plane had checked out fine. Calling the Swiss charge “baseless,” Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Ahmed Shafeeq told reporters: “If they have any proof, they have to submit it.”

On Sunday, families of the French crash victims made their way to Sharm el Sheik in hopes of claiming remains.

Meanwhile, it was vacation as usual as tourists jammed the walkway lining the resort’s most popular beaches.

“What would we do with all this construction if we didn’t have any more tourism?” said local cab driver Ahmad Said, pointing to the crop of new hotel complexes sprouting along Sharm el Sheik’s main road.

Egypt depends on tourists to bolster a foundering economy -- but tourism has been hit hard by the region’s tumultuous politics. Islamic militants killed 58 foreign tourists in the tombs at Luxor in 1997, sending Egypt’s vacation industry into a tailspin.

It took a few years, but travelers began to venture back, lured by the pyramids, the ancient ruins and the exotic beach resorts. After Sept. 11, tourism throughout the region withered.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has brought his family to Sharm el Sheik for Christmas for the last three years. He was still here when the jet crashed.

In the hours after the crash, waiter Mohammed Sayed, who works at a hotel in Naama Bay, tried to hide his fear from the guests. “I felt like I’d been holding my breath until they announced it wasn’t terrorism.”

Zayan reported from Sharm el Sheik and Stack from Jerusalem.