West Wales man killed in plane crash after fire in cockpit
Richard Osman, a 40-year-old geologist from Carmarthen, died alongside 65 others when EgyptAir flight MS804 crashed into the Mediterranean in May 2016.
There had been a lengthy delay for the inquest due to a wait for all evidence to be presented.
At an inquest on Friday, the coroner dismissed the Egyptian investigator's suggestion that there had been a deliberate explosion on the aircraft.
Instead, he agreed with a British expert who believed a fire had broken out on board the aircraft, possibly fuelled by an oxygen mask leak in the cockpit.
The inquest heard the fire would have spread rapidly throughout the flight deck, meaning the aircraft could not be controlled, resulting in the crash.
There were some 59 passengers on board, two flight crew, and five cabin attendants.
There were no survivors.
Mark Layton, the coroner for Carmarthenshire, said there had been two conflicting explanations for the cause of the crash put forward by the French and Egyptian investigators.
He heard from Ken Fairbank, a British aviation expert, who sided with the French report, which said the likely cause of the crash was a fire in the cockpit.
Mr Fairbank said: "Despite the discovery of traces of explosives found on some of the wreckage and victims' remains, the weight of evidence is not, in my view, consistent with the published scenario in which an explosive device triggered the accident."
He said traces of explosives, possibly TNT, 'cannot be ignored', but the results had been 'challenged' by the French authorities, who were not able to get it independently verified.
"I believe the fire most likely started adjacent to the first officer's position on the right side of the flight deck," he said.
Mr Fairbank said a hiss and a pop could be heard on a black box recording in the cockpit, but there was no sound of an explosion, with people heard saying 'fire'.
Mr Layton said he 'fully accepts' Mr Fairbank's conclusion.
Recording a narrative conclusion, he said: "Richard Osman was a passenger of a commercial flight MS804, travelling from Paris to Cairo, which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on May 19 2016.
"Following a fire on board caused by an ignition source of unknown origin, most likely associated with the first officer's oxygen supply system, which either resulted from, or was fed by, an oxygen leak."
In a statement, Mr Osman's widow, Aurelie Vandeputte, said: "Today, the inquest into Richard's death was finally held, just short of nine years after his death.
"We can now close this chapter.
"Richard's love, values and determination inspired us every day of this journey and will continue building us over the years."
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