Question: Dosn't the NTSB automatically become involved when a US made aircraft has an accident/incident, or am i wrong ? Or need they be "requested for help" by the particular country ?
Under ICAO Annex 13 (which all concerned are signatories) The NTSB
will be invited and no doubt accept as the country of manufacture and design of the aircraft as well as the powerplants (how else to address real airworthiness concerns).
The french BEA will also be invited and no doubt accept as their citizens were involved.
Boeing and GE may be invited by any of the parties as technical rxpert assistance. However they as technical experts may not have access to all factual information as the formal parties (BEA and NTSB).
There is little likihood of any witholding of any factual information between parties simply because of Annex 13 principals
The greater concern would be bickeing among the parties about the significance and interpretation of the available facts or the need for extraordinary wreckage recovery efforts.
However, issues associated with crew discipline and operation of the airline under regulatory oversight may be kept to the Egyptians and not be open to the other parties.
Rest assured, defects in the equipment, if any, will be addressed. Defects in operation or crew training are unlikely to get top billing in the press due to their subjective nature among the parties.