KEY POINTS:
PARIS - Investigators probing the crash of an Air New Zealand airbus say they cannot explain what caused the Airbus A320 to nosedive into the Mediterranean sea.
In a statement issued by the French aviation authority responsible for the probe the investigators confirmed the 'black box' recorders appear intact but as yet they have been unable to extract any data.
"The protective casing resisted the impact forces and the memory cards appear to be intact, but no data has been able to be extracted," the statement said, but investigators do not rule out success in the future. "Additional work is needed although it is not possible at the moment to predict the results."
The Paris-based Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses pour la Securite de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) - the Office of Inquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety - began looking into the cause of the crash only hours after incident.
"The crew gave no indications of any possible problems to the Air Traffic Control organisation, when they stopped answering calls," the statement said.
"At this stage of the investigation, none of the information gathered explains why the airplane then deviated from its flight path and crashed into the sea."
Specialist technical investigators have also carried out a preliminary check of the craft's maintenance log but have so far found nothing unusual. The plane underwent maintenance on November 3 for 'visual and functional checks' before the plane was repainted. "Initial examination of the documents (relating to Nov 3 maintenance) has not revealed any anomalies."
A team of six French and two German investigators, accompanied by specialists from Airbus and the French civil aviation authority has travelled to the accident site.
All seven people on board the plane are believed to have been killed.
They included Air New Zealand pilot Captain Brian Horrell, 52, and engineers Murray White, 37, Michael Gyles, 49, and Noel Marsh, 35 and well as Civil Aviation Authority official Jeremy Cook, 58. The other two on board were German pilots.
Only three bodies have been recovered from the wreckage, which is wedged into mud some forty metres under the sea.
They have been taken to Montpelier for dental-record comparison and DNA testing with officials saying the results could be known by the weekend.
A team of some 50 police divers and coast guards are continuing to trawl the area seven kilometres off shore to recover debris. The French navy has mapped out the area but turbulent seas and poor visibility are hindering their search.
Families of all the New Zealand victims are now in Perpignan. Some family members have been taken to the crash site by boat to pay their respects to their loved ones.
Tributes to the victims have been flowing in Auckland, with bouquets of flowers and cards laid outside Air New Zealand's offices in the central city.
- With NZPA
