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U.S.
Aviation Authority Says Egyptian Crash Deliberate
By
Steve Smith, IOL Washington
correspondent
WASHINGTON,
Feb. 21 - The 1999 crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 off the U.S. Atlantic
coast was intentionally perpetrated according to U.S. federal officials and the
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
News
reports here say that NTSB probing the Egyptian Boeing 767, which crashed in
October 1999 some 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of Nantucket Island, has
reiterated statements that the crash was the result of a suicide by the
co-pilot.
Egypt
and the public opinion in most of the Arab countries have vehemently disputed
the report before saying that the crash may have been caused by a mechanical
failure. Some went as far as suggesting that a missile hit the plane since
dozens of Egyptian military officers were on board back from months-long
training in the U.S.
At
the time of the crash, co-pilot Gamil Batouty, who according to on-board
recording devices, said something close to a prayer before the airliner nearly
nose-dived into the ocean, piloted the plane.
Batouty
reportedly said "tawakltu ala Allah" in Arabic, which means "I
put my trust in God," a regular prayer that millions of Muslims utter
routinely everyday.
Except
for referring to the prayers, the report, however, did not provide any further
evidence to support the claim that the plane was intentionally taken down.
EgyptAir
officials have heatedly rejected the claims, saying Batouty was a well-balanced
family man and a veteran pilot who could not have committed suicide.
But
the sources said the investigators had found no evidence of a mechanical failure
of the airplane "that would have caused or contributed to" a dive at
the speed of sound that preceded the airplane's collapse.
The
Board says it sent a team of as many as 14 different specialties, coordinated by
the investigator-in-charge. The team say they looked into areas such as
structures, systems, powerplants, human performance, fire and explosion,
meteorology, radar data, event recorders, and witness statements, among others.
Under
the International Civil Aviation Organization treaty, the investigation of a
plane crash in international waters comes under the jurisdiction of the country
of registry of the aircraft.
At
the request of the Egyptian government, the NTSB has taken the lead in this
investigation. The Egyptian press later accused the U.S. body of trying to
protect Boeing by not pointing a finger towards a mechanical failure or covering
up a mysterious reason behind the crash.
The
plane was the 282nd Boeing 767 off the production line, delivered new to
EgyptAir September 26, 1989. It was equipped with two Pratt & Whitney 4000
turbofan engines.
The
investigation was supported by the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, the United States Coast Guard, the Department of
Defense, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boeing Commercial
Airplanes, EgyptAir, and Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines.
The
fall of EgyptAir 990 began with a loud bang. Pilot suicide is the explanation
offered by U.S. investigators - an rationalization that cannot account for the
failure of the flight data recorders at approximately 16,000 feet, according to
Egyptian counter arguments.
They
also point to a previous Silk Air crash in which the flight data recorders also
stopped operating before the aircraft crashed.
The
Egyptian pilots' union was angered by initial suicide reports that it at one
time named former U.S. President Bill Clinton in a lawsuit over the FBI
investigation.
The
action is being taken through the Egyptian courts and accuses investigators of
ignoring other possible reasons as to why the New York to Cairo jet crashed.
The
case had called on the U.S. president to re-launch the inquiry and look at
possibilities including one that a land-to-air missile brought down the
aircraft.
All
217 people on board died as a result of the crash. Passengers were from Canada,
Egypt, Germany, Sudan, Syria, United States, and Zimbabwe. 
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