Why is the cause of some carrier-aircraft crashes left unknown?
Short answerInvestigators may lack both recoverable wreckage and surviving crew testimony, leaving only cautious inferences from the accident report.
NotesThe original crash report must be read closely and sometimes between its lines. When an aircraft is lost at sea, investigators may be unable to examine the machine for mechanical evidence. If the crew also dies, testimony about the final moments disappears with it. Such cases should not be labelled pilot error merely because no better explanation survives.