NTSB releases evidence reports in EgyptAir crash

©Associated Press

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 12, 2000

WASHINGTON -- The terrifying last moments of EgyptAir Flight 990 show the captain battling in vain to save his plane and the 217 people aboard -- a struggle that probably will add to the debate over what caused the crash.

Co-pilot Gameel El-Batouty was at the controls when the Boeing 767 nosed into its fatal dive into the Atlantic Ocean. Some investigators have speculated he crashed the plane deliberately.

Egyptian authorities have denied that suggestion, and they insisted that the transcript of the cockpit voice recorder, released Friday, helps exonerate El-Batouty.

"There is nothing on the cockpit voice recorder or the flight data recorder to indicate that Flight 990 was intentionally crashed," said Capt. Shaker Kelada of EgyptAir.

The National Transportation Safety Board released 1,665 pages of fact-finding reports into the crash, routine in such major investigations. The reports set forth what has been learned so far, but do not provide analysis or suggest a probable cause.

"The evidence overwhelmingly contradicts an intent to destroy the aircraft," said Carl Vogt, a former NTSB chairman now serving as a consultant to EgyptAir.

The conversations between El-Batouty and the pilot, Capt. Mahmoud el-Habashy are "consistent with two guys trying to solve a problem," Vogt said in a telephone interview.

"Pull! Pull with me! Pull with me! Pull with me!" el-Habashy cried as he fought to pull out of a dive during the plane's last moments before it plunged into the Atlantic Ocean off Nantucket Island, Mass., last Oct. 31.

"I rely on God," El-Batouty said several times, a phrase Islamic leaders say indicates he was seeking God's assistance in solving the problem.

NTSB Chairman James Hall stressed in making the records public that the cause remains under investigation. He also noted the board will hold no public hearing, because its investigators "believe there are no unresolved safety issues that require such a forum."

Hall has testified before Congress that the movements of the plane were "consistent with a deliberate action on the part of one of the crew members."

The speculation that El-Batouty crashed the plane followed news leaks early in the investigation indicating that when left alone in the cockpit, he made a comment, followed by a prayer, before the plane went into a dive.

The board doesn't make public tape recordings from cockpits, and El-Batouty's comment after el-Habashy left the cockpit is not resolved by the transcript released Friday. That transcript noted a dispute among the investigators over what was said:

"The five Arabic-speaking members of the group concur that they do not recognize this as an Arabic word, words or phrase. The entire group agrees that three syllables are heard, and the accent is on the second syllable. Four Arabic-speaking group members believe that they heard words similar to "control it.' One English-speaking member believes he heard a word similar to "hydraulic.' The five other members believe that the word(s) were unintelligible."

What was made clear by the transcripts was el-Habashy's surprise on finding his plane in a dive as he returned from a trip to the lavatory and his battle to right the aircraft.

"What's happening?" the captain asked. "What's happening, Gamil? What's happening?"

"What is this? Did you shut the engines?" asked el-Habashy, who then struggled to pull his plane out of the dive. The transcript did not show an immediate response from El-Batouty. About 90 seconds later, the captain exhorted: "Pull with me!" And then the transcript ends.

The flight data recorder shows that the plane's autopilot was switched off, and just seconds before el-Habashy asked about the engines, first the right, then the left engine lever was switched from "run" to "cutoff."

Vogt, the EgyptAir consultant, said reducing engine power is the correct thing to do if a plane suddenly noses over into a dive.

"Reducing power is an act to maintain controllability of an aircraft," he said. "It is evidence, in my mind as a pilot, that this pilot was trying to control the airplane. ... He was trying to fly the airplane and maintain airspeed, not let it get excessive."

The flight data recorder indicates that the engines were shut down about 15 seconds after the elevator moved and pushed the plane's nose into a dive.

Hall acknowledged continuing areas of friction between U.S. and Egyptian authorities. "Where they have disagreements, they have been allowed to submit them in writing," he said.

Mohsen el Missiry, head of the Egyptian group assisting in the investigation, appeared with Hall. He said he believes "additional work remains to be done, particularly in the assessing the design of the Boeing 767 elevator control system and gaining additional radar information, before the cause of this tragic accident can be finally determined."

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