Originally Posted by
rh200
Does that then mean the French should now take responsibility for the cost and recovery operations off our coast?
Not a simple question, the answers are horribly complicated.
The first wreckage found determines who is responsible for the investigation but responsibility for locating, recovering and handing over any wreckage found in other jurisdictions would normally (but not always) be the resonsibility of the authority in whose jurisdiction it is found.
International waters outside of territorial limits are another can of worms.
Another issue here is that BEA, the french authority, could ask any other national authority involved to conduct the investigation on their behalf.