Clarifications on explosives found on Royal Air Maroc jet
Morocco, Local, 9/27/2002

Some 92 grams of "plastrite," plastic explosives, were discovered Wednesday on a jet of the Moroccan carrier, Royal Air Maroc (RAM) during a routine search of the plane, said RAM in a communique this Thursday.

The explosive material was discovered in the passengers' section on the Marrakesh-Metz flight Nunmber AT 5764 on September 25, the communique said, adding the flight had left Marrakesh with 168 passengers onboard at 03.15 p.m. and landed at Metz at 06.30 p.m. After the usual checks, the jet flew back to Marrakesh with 168 passengers aboard.

According to French experts, the quantity of plastrite found onboard is not a threat in itself, and the meticulous search conducted by experts found that there was no detonator attached to the explosives discovered, the communique said.

It added that at the current phase of the investigations conducted by Moroccan and French authorities, it is not possible to advance any serious hypothesis on the origin and the purpose of the presence of the explosives onboard, as it is not possible to exclude that it might have been in transit for delivery.

Investigations by the two countries' authorities are being carried on, the communique said, adding that RAM which grants absolute priority to security and safety will continue implementing the measures and procedures that are conform to highest international standards.

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