Fuel tanks will be (almost) empty tonight (Boeing experts claim 70K l of fuel were left in the tanks) - inspection of the airframe and investigation will start tomorrow. These are primarily the prerogative of the judiciary in Belgium, who will avail themselves of aviation experts of course. Only when they are finished with their work in situ, the aviation accident branch of the federal Ministery of Transportation will be able to start its work. That's the theory at least, in practice both authorities join efforts in order to determine the causes of the crash and possible liabilities.
The Brussels newspaper Le Soir writes that a crew member said to have heard a loud bang, immediately followed by a second one and a considerable power loss in two engines - reference was made to a possible double engine bird strike.
Last edited by borghha; 27th May 2008 at 18:41.