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Egyptian Official Suggests Flight 990 Downed by Explosion
The flight data recorder from EgyptAir Flight 990 is displayed at the National Trasnportation Safety Board in Washington. A senior Egyptian government official said today an explosion caused Flight 990 to crash last month. (Doug Mills/AP Photo)
The Associated Press
C A I R O, Egypt, Nov. 24 — A senior Egyptian government official said today an explosion caused Flight 990 to crash last month.
He urged Egyptian investigators not to let their U.S. counterparts impose a scenario that a suicidal co-pilot brought down the plane.
Early on in the probe, U.S. investigators discounted the theory of an explosion or mechanical difficulties, but the explosion scenario has been the subject of wide speculation here in Egypt.
The comments by Gen. Issam Ahmed, an expert on plane crashes who heads the state-owned airline’s flight training program, were the first time any senior Egyptian official publicly said an explosion was the cause.
The Oct. 31 crash killed all 217 people on board the Boeing 767. It plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of the United States.
Were the Black Boxes Damaged?
Egyptians have raised an outcry over a scenario that has been put forward by sources in the U.S. investigation suggesting that Gameel El-Batouty, a co-pilot, may have put the plane into a dive when he was alone at the controls.
Ahmed said the Egyptian experts in the United States should concentrate on investigating the tail, which “carries the mystery of the accident.”
He said the cases carrying the flight data and voice recorders, the so-called “black boxes” in the plane’s tail, were severely damaged.
“This confirms that the tail of the plane, where the two boxes are located, was subjected to an explosion at the height of 33,000 feet. It was either an internal or external explosion,” Ahmed said in an interview.
He also said the Egyptian experts should “be on the alert” about reports detailing the suicide theory. “Methods aimed at condemning EgyptAir and its pilots have been taken by preparing public opinion to accept what they [Americans] want to impose, which is the suicide theory,” he said.
Expert Dismisses Suicide Theory
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has said that data from the black boxes shows that the autopilot was disengaged at an altitude of 33,000 feet and the plane went into a steep dive with engines at full power. The engines were turned off at 21,000 feet. The black boxes stopped recording at 16,400 feet.
Ahmed dismissed the U.S. sources’ contention that el-Batouty put the plane into a dive and the pilot rushed into the cockpit and tried to regain control, as was indicated by his pleas taped on the cockpit voice recorder.
Ahmed said the pilots’ words and actions instead indicated their confusion because something had “happened in the tail, and far away from the cockpit.”
The two pilots took the right steps, he said, including turning off the autopilot and the engines in an attempt to control the plane.
On Monday, Egypt’s Transportation Minister Ibrahim el-Dumeiri rejected suggestions that human mistakes led to the crash.
Egyptian Investiagtors Arrive
An Egyptian team flew to New York on Tuesday to join the U.S. investigation into the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990. The team is led by the chairman of Egypt’s Civil Aviation Authority and includes technical experts who will help review data from the “black box” flight recorders.
Egyptians who have aided the investigation include:
Abdel Fattah Kato, chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority. He was one of the first experts to arrive in Washington, and reportedly has been working with NTSB Chairman Jim Hall. He is in constant contact with the Egyptian government.
Murad Shawki is the head of aviation safety at the Civil Aviation Authority. He traveled to Washington after the crash but has since returned to Cairo.
Capt. Hassan Mousharafa is a chief pilot with EgyptAir and flies 777s. He knew co-pilot Gameel el-Batouty and is said to have recognized Batouty’s voice on the cockpit voice recorder, but this is still unconfirmed. He is with Kato in Washington.
Mamdou Hashmat is the head of Civil Aviation Department at EgyptAir, and is working in Washington as part of the Egyptian delegation.
Moshen El-Masiri is an EgyptAir pilot. He was one of the first Egyptians to travel to the United States after the disaster, when he accompanied the families of the deceased passengers. It has not been disclosed not known whether he is part of the investigation or not.
— ABCNEWS’ Courtney Kealey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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