By Ali Shuaib
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Data retrieved so far from an Airbus A330 which crashed in Libya this month has revealed no evidence of any technical failure with the aircraft before the crash, a Libyan commission of investigation said.
The Airbus operated by Libya's Afriqiyah Airways crashed on May 12 as its prepared to land at Tripoli airport from Johannesburg, killing 103 people and leaving a nine-year-old Dutch boy as the sole survivor.
"There is no sign indicating a technical failure in the plane before the incident, according to data recovered up until now from the two black boxes," commission chief Naji Dhaw said in a statement setting out investigators' preliminary conclusions that was seen by Reuters on Sunday.
Dhaw told Reuters that the investigation into the cause of the crash was continuing, and that it could take some time before his commission was ready to present its final conclusions.
The commission of investigation also ruled out an explosion or fire on board the plane before the crash and said there was no evidence it was caused by an act of terrorism.
It also said there was no evidence a lack of fuel was a factor, and that there was nothing to indicate that the pilot had radioed the control tower before the crash to request technical or medical assistance.
The statement added: "The crew was qualified to work on this type of aircraft. It had operated more than one flight on this route and authorisations for the crew were valid."
(Additional reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Jon Boyle)
